Number of patients in ICUs rises to 43

The number of coronavirus patients in intensive care units (ICUs) of various hospitals in the Sultanate went up to 43 on Sunday from 29 three days ago.

The number of new cases also crossed the daily 200-mark as the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported 633 new cases of Covid-19. Two deaths brought the total death toll to 1,534, and it may be noted that no deaths were recorded for four consecutive days the previous week.

The total recovery cases reached 127,698, around 94.1 per cent of the total cases reported.

With 16 admissions, the number of inpatients in various hospitals has touched 120.

The inpatients in hospitals have gone up from 55 on January 13 to 96 on February 4, while the patients in intensive care units went up from 8 to 29 during the same period.

The majority of cases reported in the country continue to be from the Muscat Governorate, according to official statistics.

VACCINATION

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Health on Sunday launched a campaign targeting a new segment of society as part of its Covid-19 national immunisation drive using Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine. The campaign targets people aged 65 and above in all governorates of the Sultanate, irrespective of whether they are ‘healthy’ or not. The vaccine is given at designated immunisation centres. The two-dose vaccine is given in an interval of four weeks. It should be noted that people who already received the first dose of Pfizer-BioNTech will not be given the current vaccine. The ministry will announce the date for the second dose of Pfizer-bioNTech later.

COUNTRY SAFE

“My mother is nearly 80 and will certainly take her to the nearest clinic to get her vaccinated. It is important that all citizens take vaccines as per the government instructions to keep the entire country safe from Covid-19,” said a resident in Muscat. After initial reluctance, most citizens and residents are ready to take vaccines when available because the new variant of the virus has the potential to do more damage. “My father refused to take the vaccine the first time, but is now ready to get a shot as he is convinced these vaccines are generally safe and also important,” said a banking sector employee.