Ammon News -

Minister of State for Media Affairs and the government official spokesperson, Sakher Dudin, said the current night curfew hours, Fridays blanket lockdowns and the closure of sectors previously decided, will remain as is until mid-May.

In a press briefing held at the Prime Ministry on Sunday evening, Dudin also announced the issuance of Defense Order No. (28) for 2021, according to which the debtor's imprisonment of will be stopped until 12/31/2021.

Dudin stated that in light of the developments in the epidemiological situation, the Cabinet today discussed a number of recommendations and actions for the next phase, and therefore Prime Minister, Bisher Khasawneh, issued Circular No. (28) for 2021, stipulating the extension of the provisions of (26) and (27) circulars issued based on the provisions of Defense Order No. (19) of 2020 regarding hours of the curfew, Fridays blanket lockdowns and closed sectors, until May 15th.

He explained that, according to the decision, procedures currently in effect will remain as is until mid-May, as hours of the night curfew will continue from 7pm for individuals and 6pm for businesses until 6am.

On the other hand, Dudin announced that Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh issued Defense Order No. (28) for 2021, which allows for the continuation of litigation procedures, and a request to establish rights between the creditor and the debtor, without imposing imprisonment procedures against the debtor, until 12/31/2021 with an emphasis on preventing the debtor from traveling until the debt is paid, and in a way that allows finding consensual solutions that guarantee the rights of both parties, with an emphasis on not affecting the legal status.

He stressed that the issuance of the new defense order comes in view of the pressing economic conditions caused by the Corona pandemic, and in order to enhance the values of solidarity and compassion among the members of the same Jordanian society, pointing out that this procedure is accompanied by hard work, and comprehensive studies are still in place by specialists, to find fair legal and equitable approaches that balance and guarantee the rights of the creditor and debtor.

On the epidemiological situation, Dudin indicated that during the past weeks we have witnessed a significant increase in the number of deaths and infections and the rates of positive tests for the Coronavirus. He explained that the Kingdom has exceeded 100 deaths a day, 9000 infections, and 20 percent of positive tests, which indicates that we have reached alarming levels of the spread of the pandemic.

He added that despite what we have witnessed during the past two days in terms of a decrease in the number of infections and the rates of positive tests, the high number of deaths, in addition to the fact that isolation beds are experiencing great pressure in hospitals, as well as intensive care beds that have reached 81 percent in occupancy rates in the central region.

Dudin added that the number of patients hospitalized daily exceeds the number of patients who are discharged, sometimes by double. "This increases the pressure on hospitals and put more pressure on our medical sector."

The Minister of State for Media Affairs highlighted the report of the epidemiological situation issued by the Ministry of Health on Sunday, as the number of death toll reached 82, and 7183 infections were recorded, and 43,615 tests were conducted today, pointing out that the percentage of positive tests amounted to 16.47 percent, compared with 15.74 percent recorded yesterday.

Dudin said in this regard: "These data confirm that we are still in a dangerous stage, which requires the highest degree of caution, commitment, and cooperation among all the citizens."

With regard to the progress of the national vaccination program, Dudin stressed that the developments in the epidemiological situation require everyone to work according to two concurrent and parallel paths, the first of which is adherence to preventive measures, distancing, wearing masks and avoiding holding gatherings; and all that was mentioned in the health protocols that aim to protect our citizens, in addition to full compliance with the defense orders that were intended to protect lives and livelihoods.

He explained that the second path relates to strengthening the efforts of the national program for vaccination against the Coronavirus, indicating in this regard that the number of those who received the second dose of the "Coronavirus" vaccine has reached 88,821 until today, while the number of those who received the first dose has reached 287057 people, while the number of registered to receive the vaccine via the (vaccine.jo) platform reached 839837 people.

Dudin also confirmed that the registration levels for receiving the vaccine are good, and there is a high demand for citizens to register, as the number of daily registrants reached 30,000 people on some days, pointing out that the registration numbers in some governorates are still modest, calling on everyone to take the initiative to register to ensure their right to receive vaccines.

He pointed out that the number of medical and nursing staff receiving the Coronavirus vaccine has reached more than 37,000 people, stressing that the Coronavirus Crisis Cell will continue to allocate days for medical staff to help them receive the vaccine easily.

He added that 27 mobile teams are working in all governorates of the Kingdom to vaccinate people who are unable to reach the vaccination centers.

Dudin reiterated that the number of vaccines contracted by the government so far has reached 10.2 million doses, sufficient for approximately 5.1 million people, until the end of the year, stressing in this context the importance of registration and the importance of registering through the (vaccine.jo) platform to manage the process of receiving
the vaccine.

In a related development, the Minister of State for Media Affairs indicated that this week will see the announcement of measures that have a mitigating and stimulating effect for the economy, through which the government seeks to relieve citizens by stimulating the economy, in light of the difficult repercussions of the Coronavirus pandemic.


He added that these procedures and decisions are under preparation, and are currently being elaborated by relevant committees and teams, and are expected to be announced before the end of this week.