Even as the situation arising out of the COVID-19 pandemic turns grimmer in Oman, with the number of deaths continuing to rise, there is a silver lining in the form of the recovery rate – 87.8 per cent of those infected have recovered, accounting for close to 100,000 people.

On Tuesday, 329 infected people had recovered while 13 succumbed to the virus. ‘The total number of recoveries has increased to 99,997, while the number of deaths has reached 1,203,’ a Ministry of Health (MoH) statement said.

Currently, there are 12,154 active cases. ‘On Tuesday, 466 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) were reported, taking the total to 113,820. A total of 435 patients were admitted in health institutions, including 182 in ICUs,’ the MoH stated. 

H E Dr Ahmed bin Mohammed al Sa’eedi, Minister of Health, recently explained that the COVID-19 mortality rate in the sultanate is under one per cent of the number of infections. “The healthcare force is doing its best, but its members are suffering. They are fatigued with some of them deprived of off days for  the past six months,” he said.

He appealed to everyone to understand that this virus spreads fast and there is an imminent risk of a third wave of infections, which has already started in many countries. 

“The more we cooperate and rally efforts of the government, citizens and residents as one, the more we can cut down the number of infections and ease pressure on health establishments,” H E Dr Sa’eedi said.

According to the World Health Organization, successful treatment of patients requires timely diagnosis and health system capacity to provide care, besides the protection of healthcare workers and sufficient medical supplies.

Meanwhile, the infection curve’s upward trend has been slow in the past few days owing to government imposed restrictions. There were less than 500 daily cases during and after the night curfew that ended on October 24.