COVID-19: Jordan announces two-week closure of mosques, schools, restaurants

Dubai: Jordan announced a two-week closure of public and private schools, mosques, cafes and restaurants and celebration ballrooms from Thursday amid a surge in COVID-19 infections.

The Hashemite Kingdom today reported 214 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total confirmed infections to 3,528. Two more people have died from the virus during the past 24 hours, taking the total fatalities to 26.

The government also banned all kinds of social gatherings. Mosques and places of worship will also be closed.

“We will reimpose strict measures and implement new precautions as of Thursday morning, including suspension of most public and private schools and shift back to online learning for two weeks,” Amjad Al Adialeh, Minister of State for Media Affairs said during a press conference.

All types of lounges, cafes and restaurants will also be shut down for two weeks, where food delivery or takeaway is only allowed to be provided to customers. The closure will also be applied to popular markets due to the overcrowding there.

The government will also tighten its measures against social gatherings, weddings, mourning tents or any kind of gatherings since people’s negligence and carelessness have led to dozens of new infections in the recent days. These measures aim to ensure the safety of all.

Residents who lead social gatherings and celebrations in Jordan are at risk of being detained amid concerns they imperil public health amid the rising coronavirus cases.

Administrative governors have been instructed to take the ‘strictest’ measures against organisers of celebrations and large social gatherings, with numbers exceeding 20 persons, upon instructions of Interior Minister Salameh Hammad.

Violators will be detained ‘administratively’ for two weeks and would not be released whatever the reasons, Hammad said, to deter those who have failed to comply with the government rules concerning public health and safety.

Other measures include reducing the capacity of government employees to the minimum limit, while the rest employees will work remotely from home.

All meetings at government agencies will have to abide by social distancing, while the Cabinet meetings, which will be held via the video conference.

Visits to hospital will be suspended until further notice.