Ministers touch base on impacts of coronavirus, new measures

AMMAN — Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh, Education Minister Tayseer Nueimi and Minister of Industry, Trade and Supply Tareq Hammouri on Sunday held  a press briefing on the implications of the novel coronavirus and the mechanisms and procedures taken by the Cabinet to deal with it.

In light of local and international developments, Adaileh said, the Cabinet has discussed the repercussions of the crisis and decided to form 10 ministerial teams to oversee and ensure continuity of work, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.

The teams formed include a healthcare team, a borders, border-crossings and airports affairs organisation team, a social protection team, a strategic stock team and a remote learning and education team, Adaileh noted.

Also included are a work continuity team, a field management team, a media follow-up and cultural awareness team, a national economy protection team and a legal affairs team, he said.

Adaileh stressed that media briefings during this phase will be limited to local TV stations in implementation of government decisions to prevent gatherings and limit meetings.

Nueimi announced that the Ministry of Education will start broadcasting lessons for Tawjihi (general secondary education certificate examination) students covering all their lessons for the second semester through Jordan TV’s second sports channel starting on Tuesday, noting that the ministry will announce the programme for the lessons that will be broadcast.

He also announced that the ministry would  start activating its electronic learning platform on Sunday through the link www.darsak.gov.jo, with the aim of providing electronic content for the second semester for students from the first to 12th grades.

Browsing the online platform will not entail any costs for students or parents with regard to Internet packages, he said, adding that the costs will be fully borne by the government.

Nueimi noted that the ministry will announce a set of guidelines for students and parents in this regard.

The ministry “is aware that there are some technological challenges” related to remote learning, but it also “attaches special importance” to ensuring the continuity of education and the fulfillment of students' rights, he stressed.

The ministry “relies greatly” on partnership with the parents of students in these emergency circumstances, Nueimi added.

Regarding Tawjihi exams for 2020, the minister said that it is “premature” to discuss them, stressing that the ministry has a set of available alternatives.

For his part, Hammouri asserted that Jordan has a “comfortable and safe” stock of all basic food commodities.

He noted that after the government announced its decisions on Saturday, a number of Jordanian markets saw an increase in demand on food commodities.

Hammouri called for keeping a “safe distance” between shoppers, urging citizens to report any practices that violate the law and harm people.

In response to a question about the economic repercussions of the virus, he said that the virus has had an impact on economies around the world, adding that Jordan, as part of the international community, is also facing economic challenges because of the virus.

At the same time, there are opportunities for other sectors in this crisis, he noted, pointing out that the government is studying the current challenges and possible ways to cooperate with economic sectors.