Oman ready to deal with nCoV cases; Omani students return
Oman has not recorded any case of coronavirus yet but is on guard to deal with any eventuality, the Ministry of Health (MoH) said.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of World Health Organization, following the advice of the Emergency Committee on International Health Regulations (2005) on Thursday declared the outbreak of Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV) as a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.
Dr Ghebreyesus had said that the outbreak constitutes to be a public health emergency internationally as the ‘new disease continues to appear in countries outside China’.
MoH statement
In its statement (No 4) issued on Friday on the epidemiological situation of the outbreak, MoH stated, ‘Oman has potential for importation of any case but we are ready. All countries should be ready to contain the outbreak, through active surveillance, early detection, isolation and case management, raising community awareness and preventing the spread of infection.’
MoH has asked people to follow the advice and guidance issued by it and WHO. Meanwhile, all remaining Omani students in Wuhan, China have returned.
It also stressed on citizens not to travel to China and affected areas except in the case of extreme necessity.
Oman Air in touch with the regulator
Oman Air has said it is in constant touch with the Public Authority for Civil Aviation (PACA) and closely monitoring the latest developments.
The statement comes after WHO declared the outbreak as a global health emergency. ‘We are closely monitoring the situation on the Novel Coronavirus outbreak. We are liaising with PACA our airline regulator and with health organisations. We are following their advice and directives. We recommend our valued guests to follow our social media platforms for more updates on this,’ Oman Air stated.
Omani students return
Sultanate’s embassy in Beijing has confirmed that remaining students residing in the Wuhan region of China have returned to Oman, ONA reported on Friday.