Oman suspends flights from UK, reduces staff capacity at offices

Oman has decided to ban all direct flights from the UK, except cargo flights, officials have announced.

The sultanate also prohibited the entry of passengers who departed from or transited through the UK in the past 14 days, Oman’s Supreme Committee, tasked with tackling developments resulting from the Covid-19 pandemic, decided.

The ban takes effect from 12pm, on Friday, March 19, 2021, and will continues until further notice. Meanwhile, Omani citizens are exempt from the ban, Oman News Agency reported.

In an attempt to protect individuals and society from the pandemic and to ensure the health sector’s ability to perform its duty in handling Covid-19 cases, the Supreme Committee also decided:

1. To downsize to 70 per cent, the number of employees at workplaces in units of the state’s administrative apparatus and other legal entities with effect from Sunday, March 21, 2021 till Thursday, April 1, 2021. The committee urged all departments to continue to take precautionary and preventive measures to curb the spread of the virus.

2. To extend the closure of all commercial activities in all governorates of the sultanate from 8pm to 5am till Saturday, April 3, 2021. Fuel filling stations, health establishments, private pharmacies, tire sale and repair outlets based at filling stations, transport, cargo and unloading services and the operation of factories without the option of receiving clients and customers, home deliveries, the handing over of food orders to customers in their vehicles from restaurants, cafés, mobile cafeterias and licensed street vendors, as well as offering ‘guests-only service’ at restaurants located within hotel establishments, are exempt.

3. To activate the role of volunteers in all wilayats of the sultanate in coordination with the respective Walis.

4. To permit the use of beaches to practise ‘individual’ sports, while simultaneously maintaining a total ban on gatherings at beaches and elsewhere.

The Supreme Committee urged all to abide by precautionary measures endorsed by the departments concerned everywhere – within residences, workplaces and public places and emphasised the prohibition of gatherings for all purposes – be it family or social gatherings or assembling in houses or other locations. The committee reaffirmed that authorities will continue to monitor and reprimand offenders and impose prescribed penalties to help protect individuals and the society.

The UK added Oman and Qatar to its travel red list, its Department of Transport said earlier this week. The ban comes into force from 4am on Friday, March 19, 2021, after which visitors who have departed from or transited through these countries in the previous 10 days will be refused entry into England.

Read: Covid-19: UK adds Oman, Qatar to travel ‘red list’

Oman Air also suspended all flights to and from UK, effective 4am on March 19, 2021, until further notice.

تنويه: الطيران العماني يوقف جميع الرحلات إلى المملكة المتحدة

Announcement: Oman Air suspends all UK flights pic.twitter.com/zqYVJ23jZg

— Oman Air (@omanair) March 18, 2021

Oman has registered 577 new coronavirus cases and three deaths in the past 24 hours, scaling its nationwide case count to 149,135 and its aggregate death toll to 1,620, Times of Oman reported.