School Year to Begin in Early September in Jordan, Fears of Another Virus Outbreak

A Jordanian child taking a PCR test in Ramtha city on August 17, 2020 (EPA)
A Jordanian child taking a PCR test in Ramtha city on August 17, 2020 (EPA)
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School Year to Begin in Early September in Jordan, Fears of Another Virus Outbreak

A Jordanian child taking a PCR test in Ramtha city on August 17, 2020 (EPA)
A Jordanian child taking a PCR test in Ramtha city on August 17, 2020 (EPA)

The school year is scheduled to being in early September in Jordan, amidst fears of a coronavirus outbreak among students.

Parents are concerned about their children’s return to schools, especially after recording a high number of local infections and the weakness of school infrastructure, mainly in the provinces and remote villages.

Many have also expressed grave concern about the students' non-compliance with public safety measures.

Minister of Education Tayseer al-Nuaimi affirmed that the school year will begin within certain arrangements that will soon be announced.

The ministry is reviewing a number of possibilities on the form of students’ return to schools in some areas, he added in televised statements.

Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, for his part, said there are several alternatives that depend on the seriousness of the situation in each area and the developments of the epidemiological situation.

He pointed out that some public and private schools will resume as usual while adhering to health requirements, while others will partially open, and schools located in isolated areas will rely on distance learning.

The Kingdom has seen a surge in the number of coronavirus infections after detecting a defect at the border crossings and the smuggling of infected people, as well as weak procedures taken by the staff there.

Health ministry statistics have revealed an unprecedented increase in the number of cases after recording about 120 infections during the past five days alone.

Authorities have isolated dozens of buildings and institutions in which people infected work or live and in light of official warnings of not knowing the sources of infection.

It has also imposed strict measures by forcing all facilities to shut down and imposing a curfew starting from 10 pm.

A new death from coronavirus was recorded on Sunday, bringing the total number of deaths to 12, while the number of infected people amounted to 1,576 since early March.

There are 291 cases that are receiving treatment in government hospitals, and the number of infections is increasing in major cities.



Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Kill at Least 20 People

Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader  BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
TT

Israeli Airstrikes on Gaza Kill at Least 20 People

Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader  BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE
Smoke rises as people stand in a tent camp for displaced people, after an Israeli attack amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Feras Nader BEST QUALITY AVAILABLE

Palestinian medics say Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip have killed at least 20 people.
One of the strikes overnight and into Monday hit a tent camp in the Muwasi area, an Israel-declared humanitarian zone, killing eight people, including two children.
That’s according to the Nasser Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis, which received the bodies.
Hospital records show another six killed in a strike on people securing an aid convoy and another two killed in a strike on a car in Muwasi. One person was killed in a separate strike in the area,The Associated Press reported.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah said three bodies arrived after an airstrike on a school-turned-shelter in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp.
The Israeli military says it only strikes militants, accusing them of hiding among civilians. It said late Sunday that it had targeted a Hamas fighter in the humanitarian zone.
The war began when a Hamas-led group attacked southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 hostage. Around 100 captives are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel’s air and ground offensive has killed over 45,200 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry. The ministry says women and children make up more than half the dead but does not distinguish between civilians and combatants in its tally. The military says it has killed over 17,000 of Hamas, without providing evidence.