Supreme Committee to close all commercial activities in all governorates from March 4

Supreme Committee to close all commercial activities in all governorates from March 4

Muscat: All commercial activities in the Sultanate's governorates will remain closed between 8 pm and 5 am from Thursday 4 March to Saturday 20 March 2021, the Supreme Committee tasked with tackling developments resulting from coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has decided. The decision has been taken to protect society and individuals from the spread of COVID-19 “”particularly due to the rapid spread of infection. The closure covers all restaurants, cafes and cafeterias inside tourism installations, in addition to home delivery services. The ban exempts fuel filling stations, health establishments and private pharmacies. The Committee reviewed the international COVID-19 epidemiological scenario marked by a steep surge in the number of infections and deaths due to the prevalence of new, mutated variants of the virus. On the domestic front, data analysis shows a rise in number of patients admitted to hospital and death cases in all parts of the Sultanate. In some of the Sultanate's governorates, a surge beyond the red mark was registered, with an alarming swell linked to travel cases amid the global propagation of the disease and the lack of information about the situation in departure countries. Data also indicates lab-confirmed infection cases linked to international mutated strains (among them