Once again the threat of COVID-19 pandemic has affected the normal life in Oman, where the cases are on the upward swing, forcing the authorities to impose night curfew between 8 pm and 4 am for an indefinite period suspending all commercial activities. 

So, the country is back to the days of restriction, though the authorities have taken measures to ensure that the normal life is not affected and essential services are allowed to operate without any disruption. 

However, what has become a concern for the country is that only 18% of the total population of over 5.2 million received at least one dose of Covid-19 vaccine, which is much below average compared to other GCC countries.   

As per the data from vaccine tracker covidvax.live, approximately 885,598 vaccine doses have been administered as on June 22, which is at the rate of about 0.34/second or 29,177 each day. This means about 17.2 doses per hundred people are administered and at this rate, it would require 215 days to vaccinate 70% of the population. 

Covid-19 has been on the rise in Oman since January, but there was a drop of cases in April, however, cases again jumped upward since Eid Al Fitr holidays in May with over 2,000 cases being registered in the last few days. When the authorities eased restrictions, people were moving around indiscriminately, which also possibly caused the escalation of the cases. Is lockdown the only solution to contain the spread of the virus? More lockdowns will hugely affect the economy and will also slow down the initiatives taken by the government to turn around the growth, but we also cannot have a health economy without healthy people. But the most pertinent question is: how long this will last? 

According to the officials, the difficulty in procuring the vaccine was the reason behind the delay. However, the pace has picked up now, according to the Supreme Committee that takes the strategic decision on Covid-19 issues. But hospitals are running out of beds due to rise in cases, and the national health system is under tremendous pressure, forcing the authorities to impose night curfew and other regulatory measures. This Covid-19 pandemic has also taught us the need of strengthening the healthcare infrastructure in Oman.

Since the present wave is seen as more dangerous than the previous ones, the authorities are burning the midnight oil to ensure everything is under control.

The new surge has come in the backdrop of the efforts to revive the economy and to create more job opportunities for young Omanis. However, once the vaccination drive gathers momentum, it is expected to give a fillip to the efforts of the government to revive the nation’s economy. How long the economic impact lasts depends entirely on how long the pandemic lasts. In the meantime, it’s important to realise that during an unprecedented crisis such as this, the government alone cannot shoulder the responsibility. Everyone of us has a role to bring back life to normalcy. 

About the author: Reena Abdulrahman is the Chief Operating Officer of Alhind Travel and Tours for GCC and Africa. Reena has over 21 years of experience working with top airlines in the region.