10th epidemiological week saw 36% drop in COVID cases — Bilbeisi

AMMAN — The 10th epidemiological week spanning between March 5 and 11 recorded 25,502 virus cases, compared with 39,979 cases during the ninth week, marking a drop by 36 per cent, adviser at the Prime Ministry for Health Affairs and the official in charge of the COVID-19 pandemic Adel Bilbeisi said on Sunday.

Speaking to the Jordan News Agency, Petra, Bilbeisi said that the 10th week witnessed 77 deaths compared with 97 deaths, marking a drop of 21 per cent, noting that the epidemiological condition has been witnessing drops since the sixth week.

A total of 115,826 PCR tests were conducted in the 10th week, down from 196,406 tests in the preceding week, marking a 41 per cent decrease.

The number of patients currently receiving care for COVID-19 in hospitals currently stands at 421, down by 30 per cent compared with the ninth week that recorded 603 patients, he added.

The share of tests that returned a positive result, known as the positive rate, over the last week increased by 8 per cent to nearly 22 per cent, during the 10th week, up from 20.4 per cent in the ninth week, the advisor said. 

There are currently 18,954 active COVID-19 cases in Jordan, down from 67,959 cases in the preceding week, marking a 72 per cent drop, Bilbeisi said. 

On the national vaccination programme, he said that the number of shots administered during the 10th week stood at 17,302 for the first dose, 22,917 for the second, and 25,174 for the booster jab, totaling 65,393 shots, compared with 76,523 shots during the ninth week, marking a drop of some 15 per cent.

In this regard, Bilbeisi called for increasing turnout on vaccination, which is the basic means to face the pandemic, especially the third jab that increases immunity up to 80 per cent.