Kharabsheh says he holds the government responsible for COVID-19 outbreak

Jordan

Published: 2020-11-27 13:46

Last Updated: 2024-03-28 08:53


Kharabsheh says he holds the government responsible for COVID-19 outbreak
Kharabsheh says he holds the government responsible for COVID-19 outbreak

Former Minister of Health and Head of the Epidemic Assessment Committee, Saad Al-Kharabsheh said Thursday he holds the government responsible for the outbreak of the coronavirus in Jordan.

In a lengthy post on his Facebook page, Kharabsheh said "I can be certain that the main reason for the exacerbation of the epidemic and its widespread in Jordan is due to the lack of control and monitoring of patients isolated at home, who in many cases did not adhere to isolating themselves and not mixing with others."

“Official bodies did not adopt mechanisms to monitor their commitment."    

If there are at least 70,000 active cases in the Kingdom which have not recovered, then the possibility of transmitting infection to those they are in close contact with, due to lack of commitment to stay at home, is very high, explained Kharabsheh.

“Imagine the number of secondary infections that will be generated by them in the community," he said. 

He is not surprised by the total number of cases since the beginning of the coronavirus crisis reaching over 200,000 cases.

“The vast majority of [the cases] coincided with the start of the implementation of the home isolation policy which was [only] applied [towards the end] of September."

Kharabsheh, among others, warned of the dangers this policy may hold unless it is accompanied by strict government mechanisms to monitor the home-isolation patients.

However, it unfortunately fell on deaf ears, as Kharabsheh believes the surge in infections could have been avoided by controlling the processes using regulatory agencies from the outset.

“The problem worsened, and the number of cases increased to the extent that we have reached now."

As an epidemiology specialist, Kharabsheh questioned the benefit of conducting thousands of PCR lab tests and announcing 5,000 to 6,000 new cases daily, if the cases were not closely monitored.

He stressed that, "The primary and important goal of conducting daily laboratory examinations is to identify the largest possible number of infected people in the community and to isolate them from others to protect society and limit the spread of infection, and it is not a statistical goal in order to record numbers announced in a press briefing.” 

“There is no doubt that relying too much on people’s awareness will not contain this pandemic," said Kharabsheh, believing that time is still available for official agencies, civil society institutions and volunteers to take initiative in order to control the policy of home-isolation, which will hopefully ensure that violators are deterred. 

He concluded, "I have great hope and expectation that if we control this issue and our citizens adhere to preventive measures, we will reach the beginning of the infection receding in record time without the need for a partial or total lockdowns. Media statements alone do not combat an epidemic."