‘Much-needed’ Defence Order 11 comes into force

AMMAN — The implementation of Defence Order 11 of 2020 began on Saturday, with penalties awaiting facilities and individuals who do not abide by its provisions.

Defence Order 11, which commits people to wearing face masks and gloves, obliges individuals and institutions with "the highest levels of preventive measures" against COVID-19 and imposes penalties on all those who fail to adhere to the regulations, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said on August 10.

The penalties range between JD20 to JD50 for individuals and JD100 to JD200 for institutions in addition to a 14-day closure, the minister added.

“The Defence Order is much-needed as low numbers of local cases has given people a false sense of safety that has caused them to become reckless even though the pandemic is still ongoing,” said sociologist Ammar Rabeh.

Rabeh told The Jordan Times over the phone that the recent sudden surge in case numbers has reminded people that the virus “is still among them and it only takes one case to contract a 100 others”.

As the Kingdom recently reported more than 10 cases daily for four days, invoking fears about a second lockdown if same numbers are recorded for 10 consecutive days, Health Minister Saad Jaber had sent a letter to Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Omar Razzaz requesting him to activate the defence order.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen that citizens and institutions have been more lenient with their safety precautions. Some places that would not allow citizens to enter without a mask stopped asking for it, even in high-risk gathering places such as malls,” said Omaima Maqdesi, an employee in the service sector.

She noted that the Ministry of Trade’s inspection teams came to the restaurant she works at a few days ago and “rigorously inspected the place, and rightfully so, as some of my colleagues stopped caring about seating people in a way that would abide by physical distancing measures and also stopped asking visitors to wear masks”.

Rabeh noted that people have been “already negatively affected by the first lockdown, and a second lockdown would certainly cause dire economic condition. So the only option for the Kingdom is to work as a whole to protect its economy by protecting its health”.