Jordan News UpdatesThe UK’s health department Saturday reported 157 COVID-19 deaths, taking the death toll to 142,835.
The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said some 38,351 people tested positive for the highly contagious lung disease, as the caseload tops 9.5 million.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The Health Ministry said Saturday it will tomorrow start giving the coronavirus booster vaccine dose to adults aged 18 and above, who got the second jab 6 months ago.
In an interview with Petra, the ministry’s Secretary General for Epidemiology Adel Belbeisi stressed the importance of the third dose, noting that immunity wanes six months after receiving the previous shot.
The second dose raises immunity for all age groups, he stressed, adding that the ministry sees that the third dose should be of the same vaccine type as the first and second shots. However, if the first and second jabs caused any complications, the booster shot can be changed, he clarified.
He urged the public to head to designated centres across the Kingdom’s governorates for vaccination, adding that there is no need to register on the ministry’s platform for the third jab and that those triple-jabbed will receive a certificate proving it.
Last week, the National Anti-Pandemic Committee recommended the third dose be given to ages 18 and above after six months from the second shot.
In late September, the ministry authorized the booster shot for people 60 years old and above, the immunocompromised, including those with chronic illnesses, and health workers.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The Ministry of Health said 18 coronavirus deaths and 1,236 infections were recorded across the Kingdom on Saturday, bringing the death toll to 11,215 and the total number of cases to 889,671.
The positivity rate of some 25,954 Covid-19 PCR tests collected today was 4.76 per cent, according to the ministry’s daily media brief.
The number of currently active cases stood at 28,853, including 103 that were admitted to hospitals, while 53 were discharged. The total number of confirmed cases now being hospitalized reached 709, it showed.
According to the report, the occupancy rate of isolation beds in the northern region was 19 per cent, intensive care 44 per cent and respirators 21 per cent.
The occupancy rate of isolation beds in the central region reached 17 per cent, intensive care beds 36 per cent and respirators 14 per cent, it said.
In the southern region, the occupancy rate of isolation beds was 11%, intensive care 16% and respirators 14 per cent, it added.
The ministry said that 1,723 new cases of recovery were recorded, bringing the total number of expected recoveries after the end of the 14-day isolation period to 849,603.
It also said that a total of 4,036,388 people have taken the first vaccine dose and the number of those who were double-jabbed climbed to 3,607,396.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The Social Security Corporation (SSC) has won plaudits from concerned international organisations for its response to the coronavirus pandemic that set a model for social protection systems.
In a report, a copy of which was obtained by Petra, the SSC said the World Bank, the International Labor Organisation, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and others noted the corporation’s response was prompt, comprehensive and accurate in terms of coordination and implementation.
The speed and accuracy with which the SSC translated the defence orders into programs is a model it set globally in best practices to maximize the efficiency of social protection organisations, they said.
The Foundation’s programs focused on social protection for the Kingdom’s workers through providing financial liquidity to private sector establishments to help them overcome the repercussions of the crisis through a JD813 million programme, including direct aid to individuals and indirect contributions to establishments, according to the report.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The Queen Alia International Airport in Amman and King Hussein Airport in Aqaba received Saturday 14 tourist flights via low-cost airlines.
Jordan Tourism Board (JTB) Managing Director, Abdel Razzaq Arabiyat, said that Queen Alia International Airport received 9 Ryanair flights carrying tourists from Milan, Budapest, Brussels, Bologna, Malta, Vienna and Stuttgart, while King Hussein Airport in Aqaba, southern Jordan, received 5 low-cost airlines planes, including 3 EasyJet planes carrying tourists from Berlin, Geneva and London, and two Ryanair planes carrying tourists from Sofia and Milan.
Arabiyat added that these flights come as part of the JTB’s efforts to attract low-cost airlines, which have witnessed an increase since the middle of this year in terms of tourist flights arriving at the Kingdom, after the return of flights by low-cost airlines contracted by the JTB to attract tourists to the Kingdom.
He explained that “the Kingdom is witnessing a growth in the number of tourists coming from various European nationalities on the low-cost airlines of EasyJet and Ryanair. He also expected an increase in the number of tourists with the entry of low-cost Wizz Air in the middle of next month.
“Contracting with low-cost airlines came within the recently announced government plan, which the JTB is working on to attract more tourists to the Kingdom,” Arabiyat noted.
He indicated that low-cost airlines “is an essential and important element for increasing the number of tourists and reviving the economy in general by increasing tourism income.”
He pointed out that “low-cost airlines are among the largest and most powerful companies specialized in tourism transportation at low prices in the world.”
Arabiyat added that the JTB with the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities and airlines are always working to continue this project to turn Jordan into the preferred tourist destination for all types of tourists from different countries of the world.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The Public Security Directorate (PSD) called on citizens to take precautions, caution and adopt proper behavior during the prevailing instable weather.
The PSD stressed the need to be careful while driving in order to avoid traffic accidents or slips due to low horizontal visibility, especially in desert areas, and to stay away from driving vehicles during heavy dust and lack of vision, and to provide appropriate medicines for people suffering from chronic diseases such as asthma.
The PSD also called for avoiding the sides of the valleys and places where torrents form and water spots that may form as a result of rainfall, and not to risk blocking the road, whether on foot or by vehicles in case the water level in them rises, stressing the importance of not hesitating to call the unified emergency number (911) if needed.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
The International Women’s Entrepreneurial Challenge Foundation (IWEC Foundation) in New York awarded Reem Badran, a prominent Jordanian economic figure, its international award as one of the most successful women in the world in the business and entrepreneurship field.
Honored upon the recommendation and nomination of the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), Badran’s award also comes to recognize her efforts to support women through civil society institutions and youth projects.
Badran, in a press statement Saturday, said she won the award after being nominated by UNIDO, due to her many efforts, whether in the private sector or civil society institutions.
Badran added that she won the award on behalf of the Arab region, along with another woman from Bahrain, stressing that the award will contribute to highlighting the role of Jordanian women globally, display their capabilities and their “remarkable” and “pioneering” role in the process of economic development.
Winning the award confirms the women status and their capability to have an active role in economic activities, run their own projects, and influence through small and medium companies, she pointed out.
Badran noted the announcement of the award came on the sidelines of the annual conference of the International Women Entrepreneurship Challenge, which was held in New York a few days ago, in the presence of the Director-General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala.
Badran, who previously served as a member of the 16th Lower House, founded Al Hurra for Management and Business Development Consultancy Company, which deals with consulting, investment, and serving corporate support systems in the capital, Amman.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
Saturday is set to see pleasant weather almost countrywide during daytime, the Jordan Meteorological Department (JMD) said in its daily update.
Meanwhile, Jordan is gradually affected during the evening and night hours by a state of atmospheric instability, with sporadic showers of rain forecast in the Kingdom’s southern areas, the JMD added.
Downpour will gradually extend during the night hours to envelope other regions, and is set to be heavy in the night late hours for limited periods, often accompanied by thunder in the Kingdom’s south, including the city of Aqaba, which may lead to the formation of torrents in the valleys, the JMD noted.
In its report, the JMD warns of the danger of low horizontal visibility due to dust, especially in the Badia regions, and the risk of slippery roads in areas that witness downpour, and torrential rains in valleys during the night hours in the Kingdom’s south, including Aqaba.
During Sunday’s daytime, the Kingdom will remain under the influence of atmospheric instability, and the weather will be partly cloudy with the possibility of rain showers in the Kingdom’s different areas, with heavy downpour often during morning hours, accompanied by thunder in the southern and eastern regions and parts of the central areas.
As the evening hours draw in, the weather tends to gradually stabilize with relatively cold conditions forecast to prevail almost countrywide, the JMD noted.
Also on Saturday, mercury in Amman will hover around 23 Celsius degrees, dipping to 13C at night, while the Gulf of Aqaba will see a hot 30, sliding into 20C at night.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY
Garment Traders Association (GTA) President, Sultan Allan, called for standardizing tariff and customs duties countrywide, including the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (ASEZA).
In his interview with “Petra,” Allan hoped the customs tariffs will stand at ‘zero,’ or 5% for services, in addition to 5% as a sales tax.
If this mechanism is implemented, it will lead to enhancing the citizens’ purchasing power and creating a balance between postal parcels and the garment imports through customs centers, in addition to encouraging shopping tourism from neighboring countries, Allan pointed out.
Allan, who is also a board member of the Amman Chamber of Commerce (ACC), said inbound parcels should be treated with the same mechanism, where the Kingdom’s clothing and shoes imports are dealt with in terms of customs duties, or treat the garment sector as postal parcels in the taxing aspect.
Allan noted JD23 are paid for a postal parcel worth JD50 as customs duties if the importer is a merchant, while JD5 is paid if the parcel goes directly to the consumer, describing this as “the obvious defect in related regulations in place.”
Allan also referred to an ACC study, which recommended setting new controls on postal parcels coming to the local market that were found as a “major” challenge for the garment sector.
This projected regulatiion will contribute to reviving the movement of Jordan’s trade activity and supporting the commercial and service sectors affected by the Covid-19-related consequences, according to Allan.
SOURCE: JORDAN NEWS AGENCY