9 COVID deaths, 1,099 coronavirus cases recorded on Saturday

AMMAN — Nine COVID-19 deaths and 1,099 coronavirus cases, all of which were local infections, were recorded in Jordan on Saturday, increasing the caseload to 14,749, the government announced.

The new fatalities took the Kingdom's coronavirus death toll to 88.

The local cases comprised 737 infections in Amman, 73 in Balqa, 21 in Karak, 13 in Aqaba, 11 in Irbid, three in Maan, 184 in Zarqa, 26 in Ajloun, 13 in Jerash, 12 in Mafraq and six in Madaba.

The number of COVID-19 cases receiving intensive care unit treatment in accredited hospitals totalled 48, according to a joint statement by the Prime Ministry and the Health Ministry.

Meanwhile, 172 recoveries were registered on Saturday, including 29 from Prince Hamzah Hospital, 127 from the Dead Sea isolation sites and nine from Queen Alia Hospital, as well seven recoveries from accredited private hospitals.

A total of 20,240 virus tests were also conducted on Tuesday, bringing the cumulative number of coronavirus tests administered to 1,271,021.

Also on Saturday, the government declared Amman's Al Rabwa, Prince Hassan, Al Jarn, Al Salihin neighborhoods, as well as parts of Sports City area, Shafa Badran and Khalda as virus hot spots.

Also among the hot spots were Irbid's southern neighbourhood, Balqa's Al Baqaa camp, Sweima and Al Rawda, Zarqa's Batrawi neighbourhood and Al Zarqa Al Jadeeda region, as well as Ghor Al Safi, Ghor Al Mazraa and Al Qasr village in Karak Governorate and Maan's Aeil, read the statement.

Amid the growing number of local infections, the Ministry of Health has renewed its call on the public to abide by defence orders, as well as to adhere to precautionary measures, mainly wearing face masks, maintaining physical distancing and avoiding holding gatherings that exceed 20 people.

The ministry also highlighted the “Aman” (Safety) application for smartphones, which alerts users if they come into contact with a COVID-19 positive person, as well as “Sahtak” (your health) application, which provides users with the latest information and news related to COVID-19, in addition to guidelines and warnings pertaining to the Kingdom’s epidemiological situation.