6 COVID-19 cases confirmed in Kingdom; 20 patients recover

AMMAN — Six new coronavirus cases were recorded in Jordan on Tuesday, bringing the total number of cases in the Kingdom to 397, Minister of Health Saad Jaber announced.

During a joint press briefing at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management with Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh, Jaber said that the new cases include two truck drivers who came to the Kingdom from abroad.

The new confirmed cases also include a Sri Lankan woman who contracted the virus from a patient who is under treatment in Prince Hamzah Hospital and three individuals from a residential building in north Amman who had come into contact with a coronavirus patient as well.

The minister also announced 20 new recoveries in the Kingdom, including 14 patients from Prince Hamzah Hospital and six from King Abdullah University Hospital.

Also speaking during the briefing, which was streamed live on Facebook, Adaileh said that, in response to His Majesty King Abdullah’s instructions, the government will announce a programme designated to support daily wage workers through the National Aid Fund.

The first stage of the programme includes distributing cash aid to some 200,000 households that have been affected by the curfew instructions.

The government will impose a comprehensive curfew across the Kingdom for 48 hours as of midnight Thursday, April 17, Adaileh said, stressing that this full curfew will be implemented in the same way as the previous ones.

The comprehensive curfew will apply to all holders of permits and will exclude medical personnel in the public and private sectors, epidemiological investigation teams and a “very limited number” of employees and officials responsible for vital work.

The aim of the comprehensive curfew is to enable the epidemiological investigation teams to carry out their tasks effectively and conduct the maximum number of coronavirus tests, Adaileh said.

The curfew will return to its normal state on Sunday, April 19 at 10am, allowing citizens to shop for basic necessities every day from 10am to 6pm.

The government will announce amendments to curfew instructions in regions that have no reported infections, the minister said. He noted that as of next week, entry and exit bans will be imposed on coronavirus-free regions as announced, while economic activities will be allowed to resume and businesses will be opened.

As of next week, a number of productive and service establishments will be allowed to resume work with a minimal number of employees, Adaileh said, adding that a number of mega-infrastructure projects, including the Desert Highway, have already resumed work.

Regarding truck drivers, Adaileh said that they are allowed to enter the Kingdom on the condition that they provide proof that they have tested negative for the coronavirus.