Maintain physical distancing even after returning to work

 Locals and expats in Oman must continue to maintain physical distancing even once their businesses have reopened, so that the spread of COVID-19 is contained.

Dr Eskild Petersen, a special advisor to the Ministry of Health, has said that distancing is the best way to stop the spread of the coronavirus, as it is transmitted through close contact with others.

“The most important measure to control this virus – this is what we have done very successfully in Oman – is to keep distancing between people,” he explained. “When we think, for instance, of an office, which is going to open in the next few weeks, what do we do? What is important is that when we look to other countries, and they are going back to businesses, they keep distance between employees.”

Petersen, who is also a member of the Department of Infection Diseases at Aarhus University in Denmark, and the editor-in-chief of the international journal of infectious diseases, was speaking during a webinar titled ‘Steering a business through COVID-19’, during which he spoke of recommended practices that, when followed, would help decrease the spread of the disease.

“It is, therefore, important that when we reopen our offices, we keep our distance, we sweep our tabletops, maybe two or three times a day, so that any droplets, through which the disease can spread, that have remained there are removed, we wash our hands frequently to make sure, so that we do not risk danger, having touched something like a door handle or the button of an escalator, which might’ve been contaminated by somebody else,” he explained.

“These are rules that will be here for the next six to 12 months, until we have a vaccine, because the virus will still be here, but we have to open business, we have to get back to economically productive lives, so that we can start our businesses again and get our societies moving,” added Petersen. “Every office, every workplace, should have a plan. You have to also plan for working with your colleagues from a distance.”


While many companies have resorted to remote or working-from-home techniques during the COVID-19 pandemic, Petersen felt this mode of work will be required during the immediate future, and would only slowly be eased off to enable them to steadily increase the number of employees working from their offices.

“Distance or remote working is here to stay,” he explained. “Working from our laptops – just as we are doing now – and having a videoconference instead of a real meeting is a very good idea. Physical distancing and hygiene are tremendously important. Expect these measures to be in place for the months to come. Economic activities might open up, but the physical distancing is here to stay for a long while into the future.”

Providing examples of how other countries had attempted to maintain social distancing while still encouraging employees to get back to work, Petersen said, “For instance, in Austria, there is a rule which states that you must have a distance of 20 square metres between each person who is sitting in their office. Many offices are only opening with half the staff working on the premises, with the other half working from home.

“This virus will not disappear completely over the next few weeks, or the next few months,” he added. “This virus will probably be present in our society at a low level, until we have developed a vaccine that we can give to everyone.”