Jordan Gradually Returns to Normal Life

FILE PHOTO: Jordanian police officers stand guard as a man waits to get bread in a closed-down part of Al-Nasr area, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amman, Jordan, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
FILE PHOTO: Jordanian police officers stand guard as a man waits to get bread in a closed-down part of Al-Nasr area, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amman, Jordan, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
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Jordan Gradually Returns to Normal Life

FILE PHOTO: Jordanian police officers stand guard as a man waits to get bread in a closed-down part of Al-Nasr area, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amman, Jordan, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed
FILE PHOTO: Jordanian police officers stand guard as a man waits to get bread in a closed-down part of Al-Nasr area, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Amman, Jordan, April 15, 2020. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed

Normal life is gradually returning to Jordan, after a total lockdown in Amman and the Irbid governorate resulted in zero new infections.

The Jordanian government announced on Monday that it would allow private vehicles to circulate on the basis of odd and even numbers, after lifting restrictions on movement and work in different sectors.

The government also allowed the resumption of activities in the public transport at a rate not exceeding 50 percent of the sector’s capacity, according to statements by Information Minister Amjad Al-Adayleh.

The National Committee for Epidemics showed more flexibility in dealing with the curfew hours in the country, allowing the return of work to individual occupations and small businesses.

Meanwhile, Minister of Industry and Trade Tareq Al-Hamouri said that activities at the industrial sector could resume at 100 percent of production capacity.

The commercial sector, for its part, expressed surprise at a government decision to maintain the closure of basic service sectors.

Public criticism of the restriction measures in the country is mounting as only 95 cases are still under treatment out of 449 infections recorded in the country.

Life returned to normal in previously isolated areas, especially in the northern Irbid governorate.

The government announced on Monday the closure of the public sector, schools, and universities until the end of the month of Ramadan.

Markets started witnessing an active movement after the reopening of multiple sectors, including restaurants, clothing stores, and a number of direct sales sectors such as mobile phones stores and building materials.



Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
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Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)

Iraq's population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.
The census, conducted on Nov. 20, was Iraq's first nationwide survey in more than three decades, marking a crucial step for future planning and development.
Prior to the census, the planning ministry estimated the population at 43 million.
The last census, conducted in 1997, did not include the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has been under Kurdish administration since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.