With cases of COVID-19 rising, fears of a lockdown linger

With cases of COVID-19 rising, fears of a lockdown linger

Muscat – With the COVID-19 daily case count rising in Oman, will we go back into lockdown again? It may be a new year full of hope but the concerns over the Omicron variant of the virus and its high transmissibility have many people wondering about further measures in 2022.

Muscat Daily spoke with a cross-section of people who are still recovering from the impact of lockdowns and do not want a return of restrictions. The rising numbers everyday has most worried.

“I am finding 2022 to be a difficult time because of the confusion over what we should be doing as cases rise again. The thought of another lockdown is making me anxious. I don’t want that to happen,” said Bader al Harthy, a businessman based in Seeb.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) announced 1,800 new infections, one death and 39 new hospitalisations in a 24-hour period on Thursday. The total number of COVID-19 cases registered in the country has now risen to 318,272. ‘The total number of COVID-19 related deaths reported in the sultanate is 4,125,’ an MoH statement said. With 532 COVID-19 patients recovering on Thursday, the total number of recoveries has increased to 303,644.

However, unlike Harthi, there are those