KHALEEJ TIMES, Thursday, Aug 6, 2020 | Zul Hijjah 16, 1441
Oman lifts internal travel restrictions, reduces curfew
Oman:
Oman will on Saturday, August 8, lift a domestic ban on travel between
provinces, imposed on July 25 to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus
during the Eid Al Adha holiday, the state news agency ONA said on Wednesday.
From Saturday it will also reduce its curfew for a week to between 9 pm and 5 am
(1700-0100 GMT), instead of 7 pm to 6 am (1500 to 0200 GMT). A full lockdown of
the Dhofar province in the south will be maintained until further notice.
Oman, a country of 4.7 million people, has recorded almost 80,000 coronavirus
infections and 421 deaths.
It introduced lockdowns in March in some regions such as Muscat, Dhofar, Duqm
and some tourist towns. Since April, it has gradually allowed commercial centres
to reopen and lifted some lockdowns.
But it tightened measures for the long Eid holiday after infection numbers rose
through June.
In the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes Oman and five other Gulf Arab
states, the biggest nation Saudi Arabia has the highest number of confirmed
infections. Together the group has recorded more than 647,000 cases and almost
4,600 deaths.
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