Oman to open land borders from September 1

Oman is set to open its land borders from September 1.

“Oman will open its land borders from September 1, while adhering to the controls imposed by the Supreme Committee, including testing before arrival into the sultanate,” said Dr. Saif bin Salem Al-Abri, director general of Disease Control and Control at the Ministry of Health stated in the Supreme Committee meeting, Times of Oman reported.

The Supreme Committee to deal with #Covid19 held a press conference.

Here are the latest updates: @OmaniMOH #COVID19 #الموتمر_الصحفي_للجنه_العلياhttps://t.co/8cpTbYceh1

— Times of Oman (@timesofoman) August 26, 2021

No Omani citizen who is abroad and has not been vaccinated will be prevented from returning to the sultanate, provided that precautionary measures are followed, said Dr. Ahmed bin Mohammad Al Saidi, Minister of Health. Meanwhile, vaccines approved for use in the country include Pfizer BioNTech, Oxford AstraZeneca, Sputnik, Sinovac, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson, Sinopharm and Covishield Astrazeneca.

“Even with new changes to the rules, Oman reserves the right to ask for Covid-19 tests on arrival into the sultanate. There has been an uproar about these tests to be taken before arrival, on arrival and after quarantine, but unfortunately, many tests carried out globally may be fake,” noted Al Saidi. Discussions are going on to waive the PCR test requirements for fully vaccinated travellers within GCC, he added.

The Supreme Committee is also examining the return of Friday prayers and a decision may be issued during next week’s meeting, an official confirmed.

Oman announced earlier this week that it has decided to lift the entry ban on arrivals from all countries starting September 1, 2021.

Read: Oman: Travel ban lifted for all countries; vaccination mandatory to enter most establishments