A total of 18 new coronavirus cases have been recorded among Al-Bashir Hospitals’ medical staff members, announced the Director General of the hospitals, Mahmoud Zureikat, on Friday.

Despite compliance with local and international health and safety measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, some doctors and nurses who treat patients have been infected, he said.

Health investigation teams are currently testing all those who in contact with the positive cases —approximately 300 samples have been taken, 18 of which tested positive.

A resident doctor who works at the Surgery Department has been transferred to the Prince Hamzah Hospital.

Another resident doctor who works at the Orthopaedic and Joints Department has also tested positive for coronavirus.

Employees in the Internal Medicine and Radiology departments have also tested positive for COVID-19.

In an effort to prevent further spreading of the virus, the hospitals’ management decided the following:

• All 52 medical and nursing staff members who work in the departments, where the cases were reported will be quarantined.

• These staff members will be tested two times on the one-week and two-week mark following the first PCR test, in accordance with health protocols set by the Jordanian government.

• The hospital will not receive any patients at the Orthopaedic and Joints department, all operating rooms will be closed and all surgical procedures will be suspended until further notice, except for emergency surgeries.

• The hospital will receive cases transferred from other hospitals until further notice but will assign departments in other hospitals to take over.

• All sections, where positive cases have been reported, will be disinfected and reopened in 72 hours, based on recommendations of the infection control committee at Al-Bashir Hospitals.

• The COVID-19 investigation team at Al-Bashir Hospitals has been instructed to take samples from all employees at the hospitals.

• Family visits to hospital patients will be prohibited until until further notice.