Six new COVID-19 cases on Sunday bring Jordan’s tally to 613

AMMAN — Six new coronavirus cases have been recorded in Jordan, bringing the total number of cases to 613, Health Minister Saad Jaber announced on Sunday.

During a press briefing at the National Centre for Security and Crisis Management, Jaber said that the new cases include two truck drivers, among them a Jordanian national, who tested positive at the border.

The new cases also include a patient who contracted the virus from a Jerash food distributor and three truck drivers who had previously tested negative upon their arrival to the Kingdom, but whose third round of tests came back positive.

Four patients were discharged from Prince Hamzah Hospital, leaving 131 patients currently receiving treatment in hospitals.

A total of 4,200 coronavirus tests were conducted on Sunday, bringing the total number of COVID-19 tests conducted nationwide since the beginning of the crisis to 144,356.

Commenting on complaints regarding a delay in the results of random COVID-19  tests, the minister highlighted that priority is given to the 4,000 students who have arrived in the Kingdom from abroad and the contacts of patients.

The Health Ministry has distributed thousands of COVID-19 samples to private laboratories to speed up and ease the process, Jaber said, affirming that all parties are working round-the-clock to complete the tests.

Also speaking at the press briefing, Minister of State for Media Affairs Amjad Adaileh said that the Cabinet has approved the distribution of digital tablets and free access to the Internet to students in remote areas to facilitate remote learning.

The second phase of repatriation of Jordanian students and citizens stranded abroad is scheduled to end on Sunday night, the minister said, adding that details of the third phase, expected to begin after the Eid Al Fitr holiday, will be announced before the end of this week.

He also announced the resumption of government press conferences this week in accordance with safety standards stipulated in the back-to-work manual for public institutions.

Taking into consideration the seating capacity of the Prime Ministry’s press conference hall, the minister said that 14 reporters will be selected to attend the briefings based on a representative mechanism.