Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Night closure of shops comes into force

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No restrictions on movement of people and vehicles


@kabeeryousef


The nine-hour closure of all commercial establishments, as part of the measures to stem the spread of Covid-19, came into force from 8 pm on Thursday.


Customers were seen making a beeline to shopping malls, small retail outlets and restaurants before they downed shutters before 8 pm. A large number of customers in front of the food joints returned home disappointed after the shops declined to serve them close to 8 pm.


Meanwhile, the authorities confirmed that there will not be any restrictions on the movement of individuals and vehicles at night.


The night lockdown of commercial activities was decided by the Supreme Committee on Monday under the chairmanship of Sayyid Hamoud bin Faisal al Busaidy, Minister of Interior. The 17-day regulation will end on Saturday, March 20.


The committee ordered the night suspension of commercial activities after reviewing the international Covid-19 epidemiological scenario marked by a steep surge in infections and death cases due to the prevalence of new, mutated variants of the virus, in order to protect society and individuals from the spread of this disease, particularly due to the rapid spread of infection.


The suspension of business at night is applicable to home delivery services too but fuel filling stations, health establishments and private pharmacies are exempted from the order.


People have been urged to follow the other preventive measures such as wearing the mask, registering themselves for vaccination, sanitising hands and avoiding gatherings and to join the nation in the fight against the pandemic.


On Thursday, the Ministry of Health reported 369 new cases of Covid-19, bringing the total number of cases registered in the Sultanate to 142,896.


The ministry reported zero Covid-19-related death, keeping the total death toll at 1,583.


The total recovery cases reached 133,491, or 93.4 per cent of the total cases reported.


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