MUSCAT — Oman registered 1,262 new cases of the deadly coronavirus, mostly detected in Omani citizens, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 48,997, the ministry of health announced on Tuesday.

A total of 968 Omani citizens tested positive for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours, while 294 non-Omani expatriates tested positive.

Six people died of the virus, which brings the coronavirus death toll in the country to 224.

Meanwhile, the number of recoveries rose to 31,000 after 1,854 people recovered from the virus in the past 24 hours.

The ministry also pointed out that 4,007 tests of COVID-19 were conducted and 44 cases were hospitalized over the past 24 hours, adding that the total number of current hospitalized virus-infected patients stands at 464, of them 127 are in intensive care units (ICU).

Local news on Sunday reported that Oman would be setting up a 200-bed field hospital to deal with the recent surge in cases. — Agencies