ammonnews.net

Ammon News - Prime Minister Bisher Khasawneh said Saturday Jordan was a success story in countering the coronavirus pandemic, which showcased the national institutions' potentials for innovation and achievement and its people's readiness to offer sacrifices during the "darkest circumstances."

The Prime Minister was addressing the opening of a conference titled "Jordan's Experience in Facing Covid-19: Facts, Challenges and Opportunities", which was organized by the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET).

He said that, thanks to His Majesty King Abdullah's outlook and follow-up, Jordan was able to successfully deal with the pandemic in various aspects, having secured its need of medical equipment and vaccines.

"I am proud, with God's help, to have made the right decisions, which balanced between protecting the health of citizens and the continuation of life and the work flow of sectors during the pandemic," he told the conference.

The Prime Minister stressed that the government had taken decisions "at the right time," adopting the necessary measures through defense orders, which were within the national responsibility.

The repercussions of Covid-19, he pointed out, went far beyond the catastrophic impact on health, leading to the erosion of global economic and trade structures, as it curtailed movement, affected psyches, changed habits and behaviors and disrupted educational systems and development plans.

From the outset, the government set priorities, raising health capabilities by 350 percent in a record time through setting up field hospitals, providing thousands of isolation beds, intensive care units and respirators, and recruiting thousands of doctors, nurses and technicians, Khasawneh said.

He said about 18 million vaccine doses were purchased, adding that all services offered by the state, including vaccinations, diagnosis and treatments were available to all residents of the country, regardless nationality.

The Prime Minister said all state agencies worked in harmony during the pandemic, adding that the government's expenses on Covid-19 since it began until the end of 2021 exceeded 3 billion dinars.

For his part, EMPHNET Executive Director and chairman of the Conference Mohannad Ensour said the gathering will shine light on the key results and lessons learned from the pandemic and the challenges Jordan and the health sector have experienced.

He said the two-day conference will tackle the national response and the roles and responsibilities of concerned parties.