COVID infections are surging in Oman, where health officials warned today that hospitals are facing an acute shortage of beds amid a lagging vaccine rollout, the spread of highly transmissible variants and relaxed movement restrictions.

The influx of severe infections has forced overwhelmed hospitals across the country to turn away patients, local media reported.

The main Covid-19 field hospital in the capital city, Muscat, surpassed 90 per cent occupancy and its intensive care beds are now completely full, said the Omani News Agency.

Many smaller hospitals across the country also said they were operating beyond capacity.

Dr Nabil bin Muhammed al-Lawait, the Muscat field hospital director, said that officials were scrambling to increase hospital capacity and staff numbers to handle the spike in critically ill patients.

“There is great pressure on hospital beds and a shortage of medical staff,” he said.