A countrywide round-the-clock curfew has come into effect in Jordan as the country doubles down on efforts to curb the spread of the coronavirus, barring people from moving except for in emergencies, the government said.
Sirens in the early hours of Saturday marked the beginning of the curfew, the exact duration of which was left unspecified during the official announcement by government spokesman Amjad Adaileh in a televised address a day earlier.
Adaileh said the nationwide curfew followed the declaration of a state of emergency earlier this week, giving the government sweeping powers to enforce an army-imposed curfew and other measures.
As part of the emergency measures, Jordan’s army sealed off the capital Amman from the rest of the country and banned travel between provinces to put its 10 million people on lockdown.
It has already closed land and sea borders with Syria, Iraq, Egypt, Palestine and Israel, and suspended all incoming and outgoing flights since Tuesday.
The country has 84 confirmed coronavirus cases, with no deaths so far. Health Minister Saad Jaber said one man recovered from the virus and left hospital, as authorities feared the pandemic could spread fast.
The government said there were nearly 5,000 people under quarantine in hotels in Amman and the Dead Sea area.
Source: Al Jazeera