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Oman Extends Land Border Closure by a Week Due to Pandemic

General view of old Muscat, Oman, January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/Files
General view of old Muscat, Oman, January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/Files
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Oman Extends Land Border Closure by a Week Due to Pandemic

General view of old Muscat, Oman, January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/Files
General view of old Muscat, Oman, January 12, 2020. REUTERS/Christopher Pike/Files

Oman will extend the closure of its land borders for another week, until Feb. 8, to curb the spread of the coronavirus, state TV said on Sunday, citing a decision by the Gulf state’s coronavirus emergency committee.

The borders were closed on Jan. 19 because of concerns about a new coronavirus variant, a measure that was extended last week.

Meanwhile, Oman received on Sunday 100,000 doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, according to the country’s official Oman VS COVID19 Twitter account dedicated to the efforts of countering the coronavirus.

The doses were “provided by the Republic of India, produced by the Serum Institute of India,” according to the statement.

Over 27,000 people have received the first dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine and 7,992 received the second dose, the Times of Oman reported, citing Oman’s Ministry of Health.

Oman’s Supreme Committee last week advised the country’s citizens and residents to avoid traveling abroad, except in cases of emergency.

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Arab World

Airlines Keep Avoiding Middle East Airspace after US Attack on Iran

FILE - Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
FILE - Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
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Airlines Keep Avoiding Middle East Airspace after US Attack on Iran

FILE - Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)
FILE - Israeli air defense system fires to intercept missiles during an Iranian attack over Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, June 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Leo Correa, File)

Airlines continued to avoid large parts of the Middle East on Sunday after US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites, according to flight tracking website FlightRadar24, with traffic already skirting airspace in the region due to recent missile exchanges.

"Following US attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities, commercial traffic in the region is operating as it has since new airspace restrictions were put into place last week," FlightRadar24 said on social media platform X.

Its website showed airlines were not flying in the airspace over Iran, Iraq, Syria and Israel.

Missile and drone barrages in an expanding number of conflict zones globally represent a high risk to airline traffic.

Since Israel launched strikes on Iran on June 13, carriers have suspended flights to destinations in the affected countries, though there have been some evacuation flights from neighbouring nations and some bringing stranded Israelis home.

Israel's two largest carriers, El Al Israel Airlines and Arkia, said on Sunday they were suspending rescue flights that allowed people to return to Israel until further notice.

Israel's airports authority said the country's airspace was closed for all flights, but land crossings with Egypt and Jordan remained open.

Japan's foreign ministry said on Sunday it had evacuated 21 people, including 16 Japanese nationals, from Iran overland to Azerbaijan. It said it was the second such evacuation since Thursday and that it would conduct further evacuations if necessary.

New Zealand's government said on Sunday it would send a Hercules military transport plane to the Middle East on standby to evacuate New Zealanders from the region.

It said in a statement that government personnel and a C-130J Hercules aircraft would leave Auckland on Monday. The plane would take some days to reach the region, it said.

The government was also in talks with commercial airlines to assess how they may be able to assist, it added.