Oman Eases Some Business Restrictions, Seals off Tourist Areas

Tourists stand in front of the Royal Opera House in Omani capital Muscat. (AFP)
Tourists stand in front of the Royal Opera House in Omani capital Muscat. (AFP)
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Oman Eases Some Business Restrictions, Seals off Tourist Areas

Tourists stand in front of the Royal Opera House in Omani capital Muscat. (AFP)
Tourists stand in front of the Royal Opera House in Omani capital Muscat. (AFP)

Oman will further ease its coronavirus containment measures on Wednesday, allowing several businesses and shops to reopen, but will close off some popular tourist areas from Saturday until July 3, the state news agency reported.

The Sultanate’s easing of measures will include various stores from clothing to furniture, the agency said in a tweet.

The easing of restrictions will not include facilities in the Al Wadi Al Kabir industrial area in Muscat governorate, an area where many low income migrant workers live which was sealed off in early May to combat the spread of the virus.

It will also not include shops in malls, or in Muttrah town, which has also previously been sealed off, the statement said.

The Sultanate will close off several popular leisure areas including Jabal Akhdar, Jabal Shams, Masirah and Dhofar governorate from June 13 until July 3 and ban any gatherings or tourist activities in those areas during that period.



KSrelief Signs Agreements to Strengthen Education and Healthcare Sectors in Yemen

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
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KSrelief Signs Agreements to Strengthen Education and Healthcare Sectors in Yemen

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)
King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday a cooperation agreement to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz Governorate (SPA)

King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief) signed on Wednesday various agreements to promote the educational and medical sectors in several Yemeni governorates, benefiting over 13,000 individuals.
At the educational level, the Center signed a cooperation agreement with a civil society organization to carry out the third phase of the Back to School Project in Al-Mukha district in Taiz governorate, Thamud district in Hadramaut governorate, as well as in the governorates of Shabwah, Abyan, and Lahj, Yemen, benefiting some 6,000 individuals.
Assistant Supervisor General of Operations and Programs at KSrelief Engineer Ahmed Al Baiz signed the agreement on the sidelines of the International Conference on Conjoined Twins in Riyadh.
The agreement entails providing 60 fully equipped classrooms and outfitting 10 schools to create a suitable learning environment for students, and distributing 6,000 school uniforms and bags containing school supplies.
Furthermore, job opportunities will be created for low-income families (beneficiaries of previous training and empowerment projects) by having them make school bags and uniforms.
This initiative is part of the relief and humanitarian endeavors carried out by the Kingdom through KSrelief to bolster the safety and continuity of the educational process, and tackle student dropout rates in the specified regions in Yemen.

At the medical level, KSrelief and the International Wars and Disasters Victims' Protection Association (IRVD) signed a cooperation agreement to establish a prosthetic and rehabilitation center in Yemen’s Marib governorate.
This collaboration will offer physical rehabilitation services to individuals with disabilities, focusing on their integration into society.
It will involve personalized treatment plans, provision of various prosthetic limbs, occupational rehabilitation services, continuous follow-up care, and the enhancement of medical and technical staff skills to handle specialized cases.
The project aims to curb the emigration of specialized personnel and is expected to benefit 7,174 individuals.
Separately, the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a €3.4 million agreement with the German government to sustain lifesaving health and nutrition services in Yemen.
According to a WHO statement, the initiative comes at a critical time: Yemen is grappling with a protracted, grade 3 emergency – the highest level of WHO health emergency response.
It said Yemen faces multiple and parallel outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases, including circulating vaccine-derived poliovirus type 2 (cVDPV2), acute watery diarrhea and cholera, measles, diphtheria, malaria and dengue fever.
According to WHO, Yemen reported 204 000 suspected cases and 710 deaths between the outbreak of cholera in March 2024 and the end of September 2024.
Since the beginning of the year, 33,000 suspected measles cases have been reported, with 280 associated deaths.
By the end of 2024, it is projected that over 223,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and more than 600,000 children will be malnourished.
Among these children, nearly 120,000 are expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition (SAM), a 34% increase on the previous year.