The Minister of Health, Saad Jaber, said that the first citizen infected with coronavirus arrived from Italy 15 days ago.

In a post, he published on his Facebook official account, Minister Jaber added that when the citizen tested positive for the virus, he was in its early stages.

The Minister published questions related to the virus and the infected citizen and provided answers to these questions:

"How was the case not detected by airport thermal scanners?

The citizen tested positive for the virus when he was in its early stages.

Why wasn't he immediately quarantined?

He arrived in Jordan before the government made its decision to quarantine every citizen who arrives from Italy.

Why weren't all citizens tested upon their arrival at the Kingdom's borders?

At least 50,000 people enter the Kingdom each day, which makes it almost impossible to test all of them. This prompts the cadres at the border crossings to follow monitoring methods.

Have we asked arrivals from Italy to adhere to "home quarantine"?

After the virus spread in Italy, we decided to quarantine all arrivals from that country. Then, we asked those who arrived in Jordan before the quarantine decision was issued to adhere to "home quarantine" as a precaution.

Has the virus transmitted from the infected citizen to all citizens he had direct contact with?

The patient may have spread the virus to some of those people he had contacted since his arrival in Jordan. This could be at greater possibility once the infected shows symptoms of the virus (a week or two after the patient is infected).

We have tested everyone who the patient had direct contact with and none of them tested positive.

Is the government ready to deal with the virus if it widely spreads in Jordan?

Yes, it was expected that corona would reach Jordan as most of the countries in the world have cases. Therefore, the government, in coordination with the World Health Organization (WHO), has prepared strategic plans to deal with the virus.

Will we continue to implement precautionary measures on the Kingdom's border crossings?

Yes, we will continue to monitor arrivals and will quarantine those who come from countries with corona cases as part of the strategic plan to control the virus.

Is corona really dangerous?

The death rate from corona is at an average of 2-3% ؜ but the virus may be transmitted from the infected person to 2-4 people or less. The most likely people to die from the virus are the elderly and those with weak immunity just like the seasonal flu.

How do we help reduce the spread of infections?

We all should work together until we find an effective treatment for the virus.

People should wash their hands regularly, avoid crowded places, avoid touching the nose, face and eyes, stop kissing each other, not to go on trips and go to the hospital whenever they have any of the symptoms.

What next? What is our strategic goal?

Our goal is to control the disease until we discover a vaccine and until the flu season ends.

Perhaps the most important thing we have to avoid is intimidation and publishing unverified news, as spreading rumors and fake news is more dangerous than the disease itself. Bullying against medical personnel makes the process of controlling the virus more difficult.

Appreciate the medical personnel's efforts and wish them success in protecting the homeland.

We have faced several other diseases before, some of which were more dangerous. We hope our home and citizens will always be fine."

Read more: Corona outbreak in Jordan: What we know so far