Muscat: The Supreme Committee for tackling the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has announced rules for returning citizens and residents, and visiting tourists to follow in a bid to keep new strains of the virus at bay.

The Sultanate will lift its border restrictions at 12:00 am on Tuesday, December 29, but will continue to keep a close eye on the Coronavirus cases. Earlier today [December 27], the Ministry of Health began inoculations for healthcare workers and high-risk individuals from the public.

To protect all members of the society against various variants and strains of the COVID-19, the Committee has taken the following decisions:

– Obtaining a PCR test is now compulsory before coming to the Sultanate from all countries of the world without exception.

– Imposing a quarantine again for those arriving on short visits to the Sultanate for less than seven days.

The following procedures shall be applied to all arrivals at the Sultanate’s border outlets. The previous decisions that contradict these procedures shall be canceled:

– Registering in (Tarrasud+) application prior to arrival in the Sultanate.

– Showing a certificate of negative COVID-19 PCR test upon arrival provided that the test has been conducted within a period of not more than 72 hours.

– It is mandatory to obtain health insurance that covers the costs of COVID-19 treatment. Omanis, GCC citizens, and those who have free health cards are exempted.

– Conducting a PCR test upon arrival at the Sultanate’s airports.

– Wearing a tracking hand bracelet at all border outlets, along with a commitment to a 7-day quarantine. The tracking bracelet is removed after completing the quarantine period, provided that no COVID-19 symptoms appear during that period, upon repetition of the PCR test on the eighth day.

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