By Joanne Serrieh

DUBAI -- Oman announced a steady increase of 106 new coronavirus cases, raising the total to 1,614 on Wednesday, according to the health ministry.

Thirty-five of the new cases are Omani nationals and 71 for non-Omanis, the ministry said in a statement. The health ministry has so far recorded eight deaths in the sultanate and 238 recoveries.

The health ministry continued to urge people to adhere to the precautionary measures implemented to slow the spread of the deadly virus.

“With our commitment to health isolation and social distancing, we will prevent ourselves, our families, and our community from the spread of the coronavirus,” the ministry said in a statement.

The Sultanate of Oman announced its first two cases of COVID-19 on Feb. 24, two Omani women who had caught the virus in Iran. The Omani government under new Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq has put some measures in place, including a complete lockdown in the capital Muscat, where a majority of the cases have been identified.

Earlier this month, Health Minister Dr. Ahmed Mohammed Obaid acknowledged that the country was due to experience a rise in cases. “The cases are increasing, and we have not reached the peak,” he said. -- Al Arabiya English