MUSCAT — Oman has decided to impose a nighttime curfew is intending to put in place more stringent measures as part of efforts to combat a recent surge in coronavirus cases in the Sultanate. As part of new measures, all commercial activities must cease and there will be restrictions on the movement of people and vehicles between 8 p.m. and 5 a.m. The move, which will come into force March 28 (Sunday) and continue until April 8, was decided by the country's supreme committee to deal with the coronavirus pandemic, the Oman News Agency (ONA) reported on Thursday. The decision was prompted by the alarming daily surge in COVID-19 infection cases, the growing number of patients admitted to hospital wards and intensive care units and the unfortunate spike in death cases, the report said. According to the ONA, specialists expect the period from April 1 to May 31, 2021to be an extremely difficult stage in the pandemic's development in the Sultanate. To avoid the worse, the supreme committee will take a series of tougher and more comprehensive measures that might culminate into lockdown and total ban on movement during the above-mentioned period. The committee also decided to maintain its decision requiring students of government schools to continue learning online till April 8, 2021, except Class 12 students, who have to stick to the blended Learning System. During this period, the situation will be assessed in line with the epidemiological scenario, the report added.
