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Jordan Records Highest Daily Spike In COVID-19 Cases

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amman, Jordan. © 2020 Reuters
Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amman, Jordan. © 2020 Reuters
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Jordan Records Highest Daily Spike In COVID-19 Cases

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amman, Jordan. © 2020 Reuters
Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, amid concerns over the spread of coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Amman, Jordan. © 2020 Reuters

Jordan on Sunday recorded 2,477 new coronavirus cases, raising the total number of infections to 347,250.

Also, the death toll from the virus climbed to 4,455 as 11 more fatalities were reported.

In this context, Jordan's National Committee for Epidemics (NCE) held an extraordinary session on Sunday to review the developments of the epidemiological situation.

The committee discussed the need to reimpose strict precautionary measures, including increasing curfew hours and shutting down economic institutions and sectors to limit the spread of the new virus variant amid its second wave.

Derar Hasan Balawi, professor and consultant of infectious diseases at the University of Petra, told Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper that up to 250,000 doses from Chinese vaccine “Sinopharm” and 1 million from “Pfizer-BioNTech” will arrive next month.

He also noted that around 20,000 doses will be imported weekly.

The Jordanian government aims to vaccinate a minimum of 23 percent of the population.

Balawi said that 40,000 so far received jabs among 330,000 who registered on the government e-platform after the mass vaccination campaign kicked off on January 13.

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Sisi: Electricity Interconnection Projects with Saudi Arabia a Model for Regional Cooperation

Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawy. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawy. (Egyptian Presidency)
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Sisi: Electricity Interconnection Projects with Saudi Arabia a Model for Regional Cooperation

Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawy. (Egyptian Presidency)
Sisi met with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawy. (Egyptian Presidency)

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi affirmed that the electrical interconnection project with Saudi Arabia represents a model of regional energy cooperation and a benchmark for future similar ventures in electrical connectivity, directing close monitoring of all project details.
Sisi made these remarks during a meeting with Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Minister of Electricity and Renewable Energy Mahmoud Esmat, and Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources Karim Badawy.
According to a statement by the Egyptian presidency on Sunday, the discussion reviewed the status of electrical interconnection projects between Egypt and Saudi Arabia, emphasizing their importance in enhancing grid efficiency and stability while optimizing the use of generation capacity during peak demand periods.
Cairo and Riyadh signed an agreement in 2012 to establish the electrical interconnection project at a cost of $1.8 billion, with Egypt contributing $600 million (1 USD = 49.65 EGP in local banks). In a government meeting in mid-October, Madbouly announced that the interconnection line is expected to become operational in May or June of next year, with an initial capacity of 1,500 megawatts.
This initiative is the first of its kind to enable high-voltage direct current (HVDC) power exchange in the Middle East and North Africa region. It connects Badr City in Egypt to Medina via Tabuk in Saudi Arabia. Late last month, Madbouly highlighted that the project, set to produce 3,000 megawatts in two phases, is a landmark achievement for Egypt’s energy sector.
Presidential spokesperson Mohamed al-Shenawy stated that the meeting also highlighted the progress on the Dabaa Nuclear Power Plant. The project is seen as vital to Egypt’s comprehensive development strategy, which aims to diversify energy sources through renewable and alternative means, improving service delivery to citizens.
Located in northern Egypt, the Dabaa plant will consist of four nuclear reactors with a combined capacity of 4,800 megawatts (1,200 megawatts per reactor). The first reactor is expected to be operational by 2028, with the others coming online sequentially. The Egyptian government has pledged to fulfill its commitments to ensure the project meets its scheduled timeline.
The president also directed the government to intensify efforts to attract investments in the energy sector, develop the management of the national gas grid, and ensure stable energy supplies for both electricity and industrial sectors. Furthermore, he urged rapid progress on renewable energy projects to diversify energy sources, expand grid capacity, and modernize the network using advanced technologies to enhance efficiency and reduce losses.