Oman extends land border closure for another week amid surge in COVID-19 cases
Oman authorities have extended the closure of land borders for one more week. The borders will now remain shut till February 1
- World News
- 2 min read
Oman authorities have extended the closure of land borders for one more week. The borders will now remain shut till February 1 to curb the spread of Coronavirus. The lockdown was imposed in the month of December when COVID-19 mutation was discovered in some countries.
It was on January 17 when the authorities closed the land border for one week. Also, the Supreme Committee which is responsible for tackling the circumstances caused due to the virus has decided to further extend the border closure. According to a tally by the John Hopkins University, Oman has recorded over 133,000 cases with 1,521 fatalities.
Current situation in Oman
In another significant development, recently, Oman’s sultan announced fresh changes to the country's constitution. One of the important changes includes the introduction of the post of the crown prince; other steps aim to encourage transparency in the government. The development comes as the Oman government faced growing pressures at home.
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The amendments bring Oman into closer conformity with other Gulf kingdoms and eliminate the fear of any destabilising succession crisis that can happen in the future. Sultan Haitham has also organised ministries that were once controlled by his predecessor. The sultan also changed Oman’s basic law to allow for the appointment of a crown prince, which is a common practice in the Gulf states.
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The decree introduced by the sultan includes a committee to review the performance of senior government officials. This is also an effort to encourage accountability. Talking about the changes introduced, Bader al-Saif, an assistant professor of history at Kuwait University, called it a "revolutionary" move. He added, "It took (Sultan Haitham) a year to absorb everything, and now he’s pushing ahead with his own stamp. You don’t change the basic law lightly”.