Muscat: The Sultanate of Oman has begin vaccinating its people a couple of days ahead of a proposal to open the country after it shut borders over the spread of a coronavirus mutant.
Oman, which reported most deaths in the region after Saudi Arabia, is the last Gulf Cooperation Country (GCC) to start inoculating its people.
The Sultanate, which reported 128,000 cases of the novel coronavirus, including 1,495 deaths, has opted for the Pfizer-BioNTech jab like its neighbours.
Priority will be accorded to healthcare workers and those who are vulnerable, said the Sultanate’s health Minister, Ahmed Al-Saidi.
Oman is looking to open up quickly and is banking on tourism to boost its economy, which has been mauled badly by low oil prices amid covid-19.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has forecasted that the Sultanate’s economy will shrink 10% in 2020.
Toourists need to show a negative PCR test that has been conducted 72 hours prior to arrival, the Oman News Agency said on Sunday.