48-hour total curfew to take effect at 1am Friday — Ayed

AMMAN — The Kingdom will witness a comprehensive curfew on next Friday and Saturday, the government announced on Tuesday. 

Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Al Ayed, who is also the government spokesperson, said that the 48-hour blanket curfew will start on Friday 1am until Sunday 1am.

He added that after the blanket curfew, the regular partial curfew during which only permit-holders are allowed movement, will resume to continue until 6am.

The decision on continuing with imposing total lockdown is based on the recommendation of the COVID-19 Crisis Cell at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management (NCSCM), he said, stressing that the government counts on the public’s awareness and commitment to ease lockdown and curfew measures, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

Ayed also denied speculations on social media platforms about plans to impose a 30-day comprehensive curfew, stressing that this is “completely untrue”.

He pointed out that a series of meetings have been held since Monday, while this option has not been discussed at all.

The minister said that the movement of arrivals and departures across the Kingdom will be eased during the curfew. Travellers are only required to show police a copy of their tickets, noting that only one person is allowed to drop off travellers at the airport, who should also carry a copy of the ticket.

Ayed called on the public to abide by safety and preventive measures, notably physical distancing and wearing face masks, stressing that easing curfew measures depends mainly on the extent of public’s commitment, which is vital to halt the pandemic.