Gov't says virus restrictions would be toughened again should violations continue

AMMAN — The government on Saturday warned against violations of the COVID-19 containment measures, saying that restrictions would be reimposed in case of no commitment. 

 During a press conference on Saturday, Minister of State for Media Affairs Ali Ayed said that lack of adherence to health regulations would "bring us back to square one", adding that the government might cancel the gradual easing of the coronavirus containment measures should violations continue.  The minister said that Friday saw a number of "unjustified and worrying" violations of health measures. 

The government has recently eased some of the COVID-19 containment measures, including the cancellation of the Friday curfew which was imposed for some months, following an improvement in the epidemiological situation. 

"Coronavirus precautions are the only guarantee to keep the epidemiological situation under control ... Citizens' health is the government's top priority and we top priority and will not spare any effort to protect it," Ayed said. 

The minister added that the start of vaccination and the gradual drop of infection and fatality rates do not mean the end of the pandemic."More precaution and adherence to preventive measures is required to avoid any setback."

Health Minister Nathir Obeidat said that the commitment to wearing masks and observing social distancing was low on Friday in most governorates.

"Despite the remarkable improvement in the epidemiological situation in the Kingdom we are still in the phase of community transmission," Obeidat said, calling on citizens to be responsible especially with the registration of several cases of the new variant of the virus in the country. 

Obeidat also said that embarking on the national vaccination programme should be a motive for more commitment, saying that restrictions, including curfew and lockdowns might be reimposed again in case violations of public health measures continue.  

Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Maha Ali said that the level of commitment to safety measures affects the plan to reopen economic sectors, stressing that the ministry will intensify monitoring efforts on all institutions nationwide. 

Ali also said that ministry inspection teams paid 1,881 field visits and have registered “many violations”.