King urges closer coordination among public institutions to prevent errors that could undo progress in countering COVID-19

AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah on Wednesday stressed the need to bolster coordination among public institutions to prevent errors that could undo progress, noting that Jordan is a model in dealing with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) crisis.

Chairing a National Policies Council (NPC) meeting attended by HRH Crown Prince Hussein, King Abdullah urged devising backup plans in order to have multiple options when taking any decision, according to a Royal Court statement.

During the meeting, attended by HRH Prince Feisal, adviser to His Majesty and NPC chairperson, His Majesty called for measures to prepare for the Eid Al Fitr holiday, the feast marking the end of the fasting month of Ramadan, to safeguard public health and wellbeing.

The King noted the need to look into cost-effective solutions to prepare mobile ICUs to meet domestic needs, adding that efforts are underway to secure ventilators from a number of countries, the statement said.

His Majesty urged out-of-the-box thinking towards the gradual and limited resumption of flights.

Speaking at the meeting, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said that the government has relaxed some of the lockdown measures across the governorates after zero COVID-19 cases were recorded in Jordan for eight straight days.

Razzaz added that the government is currently studying opening governorates within the same region to each other while closing them to other regions, based on the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom and the recommendations of the concerned teams. 

The King was also briefed on the measures currently being taken to handle the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the statement.