New approach to quarantine needed in Jordan

Jordan

Published: 2020-08-11 14:29

Last Updated: 2024-03-26 16:45


New approach to quarantine needed in Jordan
New approach to quarantine needed in Jordan

Specialists in the health sector have urged state institutions to reconsider the mechanism for dealing with institutional quarantine along with its duration for newcomers to Jordan.

Minister of Health, Saad Jaber, said the implementation of quarantine is being revised following the arrest of 73 people who attempted to escape from quarantine sites.

Head of the Pulmonology Department at the King Hussein Cancer Centre, Firas al-Hawari, described the announcement a significant turning point.

“The institutional quarantine should not remain as it is now, and the period of the hotel quarantine must be reconsidered to become 10 days instead of 14,” he said, stressing that escape attempts are unacceptable and could lead to a significant deterioration of the COVID-19 situation in the Kingdom.

“The quarantine mechanism used in Jordan is burdening those experiencing it, other tests must be used to reduce the period to 10 days,” he said, adding that it has to be reviewed, especially with the reopening of schools and universities in the upcoming weeks.

Al-Hawari emphasised that a lockdown must not be an option. He said the Jordanian society is split into two; one which fears the coronavirus and another which disbelieves its existence.

During Roya’s Nabd Albalad, former Minister of Health, Saad al-Kharabsheh, said the new local cases is an indication of people’s abuse to safety measures at border crossings, while still stressing that this does not imply a reimplementation of a lockdown currently.