Oman lifts entry ban on Singapore; island, however, is grappling with new Covid-19 issues


CAIRO, July 16 (Reuters): Oman's civil aviation authority said on Friday in a tweet that it has removed Singapore and Brunei from its entry-ban list of countries.

The United Kingdom, Tunisia, India, Iran and Pakistan are among those to stay on the banned countries list.

The authority added that exceptions for citizens, diplomatic personas and health workers and their families are still in place.

Singapore, however, is having some concerns with Covid-19 again.

Singapore said on Friday (July 16) it would retighten some restrictions on social gatherings, including allowing only two people to dine-in at restaurants, from next week to combat a rise in Covid-19 cases linked to clusters of infections at karaoke bars.

However, authorities will allow fully vaccinated individuals to continue to eat inside in groups of up to five at restaurants that have sufficient checks in place.

The new curbs start from next Monday (July 19) and are due to run through to Aug 8, by which time Singapore is expecting to have two-thirds of its population fully vaccinated.

"There is a real risk that the cases from these clusters would have spread to the community, especially if there are individuals who have not come forward on testing," said Lawrence Wong, finance minister and co-chair of the government's coronavirus taskforce.

"Potentially, this means that we can see very large clusters emerging over the coming weeks," he said.

Authorities also ordered some 400 nightlife establishments to close for two weeks for inspections, after the flouting of rules by some was blamed for the latest outbreak.

As of Friday, 2,480 individuals had been quarantined as they were identified as close contacts of the infected people, according to health minister Ong Ye Kung. - Reuters

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Oman , Covid-19 , Rules , Takes , Singapore , Brunei , Off , Banned List

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