With the holy month of Ramadhan just round the corner, there are fears of new restrictions to limit the spread of the coronavirus like the past two years when shops were closed and working hours were shortened, which led to the absence of the spirit of the holy month.
But specialists expect that Ramadhan this year will be different and free of restrictions, as the country sees fall in Covid-19 cases and the rate of herd immunity (from immunisation and previous infections) is high. Dr Zakaria al Balushi said: “We will have a normal Ramadhan this year without closures and in a holy atmosphere as we had in 2019 and before the pandemic.”
He stressed that the effect of vaccinations on enhancing societal immunity is clear to everyone and it is possible for those who still question its effectiveness to compare countries with high vaccination rates with countries with low vaccination rates. He called upon everyone to avoid spreading rumours related to the efficiency of vaccination and instead encourage people to take it.
In recent weeks, the Sultanate of Oman has recorded a continuous fall in all Covid indicators, whether new cases or deaths, offset by an increase in the recovery rate, which has reached 98 per cent.
According to the statistics of the Ministry of Health, 183 new cases were recorded in the past 24 hours, 225 people recovered and zero deaths.
The immunisation rate as of Wednesday reached 83 per cent of the entire population. The number of fully immunised people reached 3,017,478 and the number of doses administered till date stood at 6,920,355.
@zainabalnasseri
