Muscat: The Royal Oman Police (ROP) launched a coordinated plan in its efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 and to ensure the country’s officers continue to serve the people in a timely and effective manner.
The plan includes training and educating police officers to avoid the spread of infection among its staff, as well as providing protection and virus testing devices.
In addition, the ROP will define procedures for dealing with suspected cases of infection, strengthen capabilities to detect infected cases through rapid laboratory analysis, and prepare facilities to isolate the suspects so that they can be safely treated without infecting others.
Emergency care facilities will be equipped so that they are able to handle the procedures required during critical times, which often present with little or no advance warning.
“An integrated medical team has been set up to operate a mobile police hospital for field interaction with coronavirus patients,” added the brigadier.
“The mobile unit also includes beds for intensive cases and a laboratory to test blood samples. In cooperation with the Ministry of Health, passengers coming through Oman’s land borders, seaports and airports are consistently monitored by Royal Oman Police.”
Voluntary disclosure
All arrivals to Oman must ensure they fill out the voluntary disclosure form and are required to present their passports for inspection at the airports and seaports, as well as those present at the country’s border crossings, in order to ensure that they have not visited COVID-19 affected areas.
This also helps build a database of health information for arrivals into the Sultanate, and makes it easier to communicate with health institutions whenever there is a suspected case of infection. So that it is easier to investigate cases of those who do present with COVID-19 symptoms, the use of the ID card as a valid entry document for GCC citizens looking to enter Oman has been replaced by the passport.
Al Kharousi explained, “The General Administration of Medical Services has divided its staff into several teams to deal with the spread of the virus and limit its effects. There is a general working group responsible for dealing with the coronavirus, another team that works on spreading awareness, medical teams responsible for rapid intervention that provide care for the infected people, as well as a team that provides preliminary screening of those who present with infection.”
