Gov’t further eases lockdown as most sectors to resume operations Saturday

AMMAN — The government on Thursday announced a decision allowing citizens to move freely between 6am and 12 midnight every day and cancelling the comprehensive curfew as of Saturday.

During a press conference at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said that shops are permitted to open between 6am and 11pm as of Saturday.

The minister added that mosques and churches will reopen for prayers as of Saturday, with worshippers allowed to go to mosques on foot to perform the dawn prayer, which falls within the curfew hours.

The government has also cancelled the odd-even traffic system for vehicles and permitted the public to commute between governorates.

Public transport vehicles will be allowed to operate at a 50 per cent passenger capacity, the minister added, noting that people over the age of 70 and those with chronic illnesses are still banned from movement.

The minister also announced the resumption of domestic aviation movement and tourist sites for domestic tourism, in addition to the reopening of nurseries, restaurants, hotels and motels.

Adaileh said that many sectors will remain closed in the current phase, such as wedding halls, condolence houses, youth activities (such as scout camps), cinemas, public parks, play areas, entertainment centres, schools and kindergartens, universities, colleges and institutes and training and cultural centres, as well as businesses that organise weddings, conferences, exhibitions, cultural events and festivals.

Visits to prisons and houses for the elderly will be allowed, he noted.

The minister said that these procedures coincide with the reaching of the “moderate risk” level.

He added that the new measures are subject to continuous monitoring and revision depending on the Kingdom’s epidemiological status and risk levels.

Also speaking at the conference, Health Minister Saad Jaber said that Jordan has entered the moderate risk level after registering less than 10 local COVID-19 cases for seven consecutive days or after witnessing random test results that are 0.5 to 1 per cent positive.

The minister noted that the standards governing travelling from and to Jordan will depend on the epidemiological situation in other countries.

Jaber also announced a plan to build an intensive care hospital in the Kingdom.

For his part, Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri said that the private sector has supported the government in dealing with the pandemic. The government has adopted a gradual approach in reopening the sectors after the full lockdown on the basis of health indicators. 

The minister pointed out that the Kingdom now produces more than 1.5 million face masks daily, up from 30,000 masks prior to the emergence of the pandemic.