23 new virus cases spanning 4 governorates reported in Jordan on Wednesday

AMMAN — Twenty-three new cases of coronavirus were recorded in the Kingdom on Wednesday, bringing Jordan’s caseload to 672, according to Health Minister Saad Jaber.

The new figures include two cases in Mafraq, where the cause of infection is still under investigation, and seven truck drivers at the Omari border crossing, of which three are Jordanian nationals, Jaber said during a press briefing at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management.

The total number of COVID-19 positive truck drivers since the beginning of testing has reached 113, of which 47 are Jordanian nationals, the minister said.  

Wednesday’s tally also includes seven cases from one family who were in contact with a truck driver in an area of Amman that had been isolated four days ago, the minister said.

The new cases also include a woman who had come to the Kingdom from Saudi Arabia and had contracted the virus from her COVID-19 positive son, and two cases in Irbid, among them a truck driver who had entered the Kingdom before the implementation of quarantine for truck drivers, the minister said, adding that the area had been isolated. 

A contact of the Al Khanaseri truck driver is also among the new cases, along with a woman in Zarqa who contracted the virus from her coronavirus-positive husband, a tertiary contact of the Al Khanaseri truck driver.”

Also among the new cases are three individuals who had returned to the Kingdom from abroad and were quarantined in Amman hotels, Jaber said.

Noting that 4,133 samples were tested on Wednesday, the minister said that the test results of 205 drivers quarantined in Azraq have come back negative, adding that they are to return to their homes in coordination with the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management. 

As new cases were recorded in four governorates on Wednesday, the minister stressed that “an increase in social visits during Eid Al Fitr will constitute a major epidemiological threat, which may lead Jordan to an undesired stage".

"I know that eid is a joyful time, but we do not want to turn our joy into grief, so we must be patient together," the minister added. 

Jaber also said that he submitted a recommendation to the prime minister for a three-day comprehensive lockdown across the Kingdom.