MUSCAT: The Ministry of Health represented by the Directorate General for Disease Surveillance and Control on Sunday discussed the epidemiological situation of the Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as well the ministry’s preparedness for a public health emergency and means of risk assessment at various points of entry.
The meeting held at the Oman Airports Company, reviewed the efforts exerted in response to public health threat posed by coronavirus.
The meeting was attended by officials from the ministry and representatives from the Public Authority for Civil Defence and Ambulance, Oman Airports, Royal Oman Police, Oman Air, and Muscat International Airport Services.
Each section at the Muscat Airport activated their roles and actions needed to follow when dealing with passengers arriving from China and other countries and regions infected by the coronavirus.
Moreover, the meeting touched upon the procedures document involving travellers arriving
at the airports, seaports and land border crossings.
It should be noted that the ministry, in coordination with other stakeholders has initiated precautionary and preventive steps at various points of entry (air, sea, and land). These include distribution of notification forms for arrivals through various points of entry, that consist of information about the date of travel and the presence of respiratory symptoms. In addition, conducting health screening for those coming directly from or transiting through China within a period of 14 days from the date of their arrival, if any traveller is found to have symptoms, arrangements are made for screening tests at designated health institutions.
The ministry affirmed that the previous procedures involving passengers to declare travel history to or transiting through the affected country (China) in the past 14 days in line with the recommendations of international organisations, stressing that a suspected Novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) case shall be transferred to healthcare facilities for laboratory investigation.
WHO TEAM
An advance World Health Organization (WHO) team of medical experts arrived in China on Monday to help investigate the coronavirus outbreak, WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in Geneva.
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