Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Public and private schools across the Kingdom will begin the new academic year on September 1st as planned, Prime Minister Omar Razzaz announced on Sunday, adding that some schools will open as usual while some will either open partially or use distance education, particularly in isolated areas.

In his weekly address to the nation, the prime minister indicated that his government will introduce area-specific lockdowns depending on the epidemiological status, saying: "We will not hesitate to take any action that would protect our citizens from this pandemic, which, according to the World Health Organization, the world will not get rid of for two years from now."

In the first six months of the current year, the prime minister noted, the number of infections in the world was 10 million, but in the last six weeks alone the number has doubled to more than 20 million.

While stressing that the Kingdom is in a much better position than most countries in the world in responding to the pandemic, Razzaz said: "We must realize that we are fighting a long-term battle, therefore, we should prepare ourselves to address health, social and economic impacts that require patience, endurance, perseverance and solidarity."

Razzaz assured that the government is now more prepared to deal with the second wave of the pandemic that is sweeping most countries of the world with a much higher rate of infections than previously recorded, referring to the recent opening of a number of health centers and hospitals and the increase in ICU bed capacity and the number of ventilators.

"What has helped us to contain the spread of the virus so far is our joint effort and solidarity. We all realized that the citizen's access to accurate information and his understanding of the dangers contribute to increasing awareness of preventive measures, as a prerequisite for success," the prime minister emphasized.

Speaking on the repatriation of Jordanian expatriates, Razzaz said the number of hotel rooms allocated to quarantine arrivals will be increased to welcome a larger number of Jordanians coming from abroad.