MUSCAT — The total number of confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus surpassed 50,000 on Wednesday after the Ministry of Health reported 1,210 new infections in the last 24 hours.

The total number of cases in the country is now 50,207.

A total of 939 cases were detected in Omani citizens, while 271 expatriates were confirmed to have been infected with the virus.

Nine people died in Oman due to complications caused by COVID-19. This raises the total number of virus-related deaths to 233.

Meanwhile, the total number of recoveries in the country rose to 32,005 after 1,005 people recovered in the last 24 hours.

“Unacceptable behaviors” led to the recent surge in cases in Oman, the country’s health ministry said, according to the Oman Observer, a newspaper based in the sultanate.

In an interview with Oman TV reported by the Observer, Mohammed Bin Saif Al-Hosni, the country’s undersecretary for health affairs in the ministry of health and member of the Supreme Committee on COVID-19, said that the number of new cases of coronavirus had doubled in the previous three weeks from 25,000 to 47,000. Over 100 people had lost their lives throughout this period, with over half being Omani, according to Al-Hosni.

The ministry urged everyone to adhere to social distancing instructions, as well as staying at home and not going out unless necessary. — Agencies