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A cashier wearing a face mask amid concerns over the coronavirus (COVID-19) spread works at a mall in Amman Image Credit: Reuters

Dubai: Jordan on Monday reported 15 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of infections in the country to 127.

Jordan’s Health Minister Saad Jaber said among the new cases are two children — a two-month-old and a four-year-old.

He said an 80-year-old woman is also among the new coronavirus patients, and that she is in a stable condition.

All infected patients are treated at hospitals and are in stable conditions. There are more than 5,000 people quarantined in Dead Sea resorts and five-star hotels across the country.

On Saturday, March 21, Jordan instituted a nationwide curfew to limit the mobility of its 10 million citizens indefinitely to combat the spread of coronavirus.

Curfew

Anyone violating the curfew, which restricts movement beyond emergencies and essential services, may face a jail term up to one year.

The curfew will be in place until further notice as part of Jordan’s efforts and strict precautions to prevent the spread of the Covid-19 virus and ensure the safety and wellbeing of the public.

A few days earlier prior to the curfew, thousands of soldiers were deployed inside cities and on main highways and outskirts of towns across the country while armoured police vehicles roamed streets, calling on people to heed warnings not to leave their homes.

Jordan’s King Abdullah II approved an emergency decree giving the government sweeping powers to enforce an army-imposed curfew and other measures that restrict civil and political liberties.

The kingdom closed its land and sea borders and crossings with Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Israel and suspended all inbound and outbound flights on March 17.