Day: June 24, 2021

The Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Amman celebrated on Thursday the country’s National Day.

During the ceremony, which was attended by a number of ambassadors, journalists and guests, a wreath was laid for liberator, Simon Bolivar, on the occasion of the 200th anniversary of Venezuela’s independence.

Ambassador to Jordan, Omar Vielma, delivered a speech in which he reviewed the history of Venezuela and the sacrifices that were made to achieve independence, pointing to the development and growth that his country has been witnessing.

The envoy also pointed to the ‘distinguished relations’ between Jordan and Venezuela and their development in various fields, stressing the commitment of both sides to further develop and advance ties.

Source: Jordan News Agency

The Amman Magistrates Court, on Thursday, held its 25th session on the Salt hospital case where eight people died due to an oxygen supply outage.

In a public session, the court, chaired by Judge Odai Freihat, heard two new prosecution witnesses; one of whom is the new Director of the (Hussein) Salt hospital, who assumed his position on the day after the incident.

The witness told the court that he had had no knowledge about the amount of oxygen supply at the hospital during the first week of assuming his position.

He testified: “After the oxygen supply outage incident, everyone in the hospital began monitoring the tanks, especially the administrators,” noting that the number of COVID-19 patients at the hospital, according to an inspection following the incident, was 159, including 127 patients in the regular care unit, 25 in intermediate care, and 7 in intensive care.

He attested that the number of nurses supervising patients a day before incident was 12 nurses and 18 nurses on the day. In accordance with international standards, every 6 to 8 patients need one or two nurses in regular care, while in the intensive care unit, every one or two patients need one nurse, he added, pointing out that the nursing staff on duty that day was ‘insufficient’ for the number of existing patients.

The witness told he court that the Medical Gases Committee at the hospital, which consists of the director and three other people, supervises the process of oxygen refill and submits a report on it.

The Public Prosecution and the defense attorneys examined the witnesses’ testimony. The court adjourned the session to next Sunday to hear the testimony of four forensic experts in the case.

Last March, the Public Prosecution opened an investigation into an oxygen supply outage at the Salt government hospital, prompting the arrest of 13 Health Ministry officials, who are charged with eight counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Source: Jordan News Agency

In light of the decrease of COVID-19 cases across the Kingdom, UNHCR Jordan is once again opening its registration center for refugees in Khalda-Amman, Irbid and Mafraq. Operating on an appointment basis, refugees will receive an SMS message when they are scheduled for a face-to-face registration renewal interview with UNHCR.

Through the implementation of new rapid registration renewal measures, the interview is expected to last no longer than 30 minutes. In comparison to procedures in operation prior to the pandemic, the new appointment-based system also means that refugees do not have arrive before their allotted time or withstand long waiting times. These changes are designed to ensure social distancing and prevent the further spread of COVID-19. In addition, remote registration renewal interviews will still continue for refugees who are unable to attend UNHCR’s registration centers in person.

At this time, UNHCR Jordan is urging refugees to check that their phone number is up to date within UNHCR’s database as SMS remains the primary method through which UNHCR can contact refugees and ensure they check whether they have been scheduled for a face-to-face or remote renewal interview. Over the last month, UNHCR has been experiencing issues in contacting refugees who have changed their phone number, with a low-delivery rate of communications sent to refugees.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to innovate for the better. We hope that the new appointment registration renewal system will allow refugees to easily update their documentation,” said Igor Ivancic, Assistant Representative for Protection at UNHCR Jordan.

In Jordan, refugees and asylum seekers have to renew their asylum seeker certificate on an annual basis. A registration renewal interview provides an important opportunity for refugees to update data about their families such as if births, marriages and deaths have happened over the past year. Holding a valid asylum seeker certificate with correct and up-to-date information is an important means of refugees to be able to access to UNHCR’s protection and services.

Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, registration renewal procedures have been happening on a remote basis, with over 171.000 refugees having renewed their UNHCR documentation remotely this year. Despite this, there remains a significant number of refugees in possession of expired documentation. Although, the Government of Jordan recently announced that UNHCR issued Asylum Seeker and Refugee Certificates will be considered valid until December 31st, 2021, regardless of the date of expiry, UNHCR is eager to ensure that as many refugees as possible are in possession of in-date documentation.

Source: Jordan News Agency