PM : Comprehensive curfew to be imposed on Fridays
20-10-2020 04:37 PM
Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, on Tuesday announced that comprehensive curfew, imposed on Fridays and Saturdays, will be amended to be limited to Fridays only until December 31, 2020.
Partial nighttime curfew hours will also be extended as businesses will be allowed to operate until 10pm and public movement will be permitted from 6am until 11pm, Khasawneh said in a joint press conference held Tuesday evening by Minister of State for Media Affairs and Health Minister in the Prime Ministry.
The Prime Minister also announced that schools, universities, cultural centers and vocational training institutes will continue applying remote learning until the end of the first semester.
He indicated that the comprehensive curfew an will be imposed on Friday, while the Partial nighttime curfew will be imposed as of Saturday.
Khasawneh stressed that the aim of announcing that these measures will continue until the end of the year is to shun any rumors about a long or comprehensive curfew for days and weeks.
The Prime Minister indicated that these decisions were reached after a meeting held today between relevant stakeholder with fighting the pandemic.
He pointed out that the government was facing the challenge of balancing the health considerations, which are a top priority for His Majesty King Abdullah and the preservation of economic and national sectors that have been affected by the lockdowns, as it was aware that long and comprehensive lockdowns will put some economic sectors out of business.
The Prime Minister further added that the Education Minister had reached consensus with majority of private schools to lower tuition fees by 15 percent, and the Minister would explain the agreement in the coming period.
Khasawneh confirmed that defense orders will be issued in the coming days with regard to restaurants and the numbers of people that are allowed to be present during their working hours from 6am until 10pm, at 50 percent of their capacity, not exceeding 6 people at one table, and penalties stipulated in previous defense orders will be reactivated.
With regard to cafes that offer shishas, the Prime Minister indicated that the same number of hours will be applied to them, and offering shishas will only be allowed outside cafes in summer and winter.
The Premier noted that the health sector and Health Ministry seek to expand the family base available for coronavirus patients according to multiple equations and provide the medical sector with the required staff via purchasing contracts when applicable, indicating that the Health Ministry is in the process of maximizing its stock of seasonal influenza vaccines and has secured about 5 times the stock of seasonal vaccines to be used internally.
He pointed out that the same measures will continue to be implemented with regard to gatherings, including weddings and funerals, "while realizing that the social and economic impact is difficult, but these measures are necessary."