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    11-Sep-2020

Jordan braces itself to live and coexist with coronavirus

 

The Jordan Times

 

AMMAN — Jordan is bracing itself to live and coexist with the presence of the coronavirus as it faces higher caseload numbers and enters into a new battleground.
 
Prime Minister Omar Razzaz recently said that the government is trying to balance between containing the virus and protecting the economy, as stated in his recent meeting with His Majesty King Abdullah.
 
Razzaz noted that the government is committed to implementing the King’s directives to preserve the gains of dealing with COVID-19 while preparing for any epidemiological developments.
 
The Ministry of Health said in a recent statement that it is working on tightening preventive measures, especially after the opening of airports and border crossings, which accompanies a rise in case numbers.
 
Ministry Spokesperson Adnan Ishaq added that the ministry's hospitals will only receive moderate and severe cases as they have a capacity of 900 admissions.
 
As dictated by Razzaz and reiterated by Ishaq, there is no return to the comprehensive ban on Fridays and no suspension of economic activities or measures to close economic establishments, as the government is pursuing a new policy to deal with the virus that will balance the fight against the virus while revitalising the economy.
 
With the reopening of schools and universities, Ishaq confirmed that the Ministry of Health has more than 170 epidemiological investigation teams that conduct thousands of examinations every day.
 
“Ultimately, the government is betting primarily on the individual who can limit the spread of the virus by following the correct preventive measures,” he added.
 
The government announced that schools and universities are to continue operating, parliamentary elections are to be held and so are professional union elections.
 
When it comes to the behaviour of citizens, mental health professional Ahmad Rabadi said that “citizens seem to realise now that they have no other option but to live with the virus especially that a vaccine might not be released anytime soon according to the World Health Organisation”.
 
According to Rabadi, the first few weeks of the lockdown in March were the hardest on people as the virus was new and “the announcement of more than 10 cases a day terrified citizens, but currently case numbers are in the 100s and people seem less concerned”.
 
Rabadi said that “even my OCD patients, who were so badly affected by the thought of a pandemic that I had to admit some of them because of their obsessive thoughts, are now going back to work, going out and dealing with the situation”.
 
While “normal” life continuing amidst the pandemic is a “good sign”, Rabadi insisted that citizens “must always remember that the virus is around us and that they should not become reckless or deny its existence”.
 
 

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