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Jordan Lifts Lockdown on Fridays as Cases Drop

A man attends Friday prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan after the government eased the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, at al-Husseini mosque in Amman, Jordan April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij
A man attends Friday prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan after the government eased the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, at al-Husseini mosque in Amman, Jordan April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij
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Jordan Lifts Lockdown on Fridays as Cases Drop

A man attends Friday prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan after the government eased the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, at al-Husseini mosque in Amman, Jordan April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij
A man attends Friday prayers during the holy fasting month of Ramadan after the government eased the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) restrictions, at al-Husseini mosque in Amman, Jordan April 23, 2021. REUTERS/Muath Freij

Jordanian Minister of State for Media Affairs Sakhr Dodin has announced a government decision to lift the weekly lockdown on Friday, allowing citizens to perform evening and Tarawih prayers in mosques.

The curfew was imposed on Fridays in light of the high number of Covid-19 cases, with the last Friday lockdown announced on February 26, after the number of daily cases in February exceeded 4,000, according to Agence France Presse.

“The decision to ease lockdown measures on Fridays was taken at the request of 95 lawmakers,” said Dodin, the official spokesperson for the government.

However, the government decided to maintain curfew hours for both institutions and individuals; it starts at six and seven in the evening and continues until six in the morning the next day for economic sectors and citizens.

“This is the maximum that can be done at present, given the epidemiological situation and the emergence of mutations, the last of which is the Indian one, which has begun spreading in many countries across the globe,” Dudin added.

Jordan recorded on Wednesday 1,910 cases and 47 deaths, bringing the total number of infections and fatalities to 708,000 and 8,754, respectively. Last Sunday, Dudin said that the government aims for a “safe summer” and lifting all forms of restrictions by July.

In a joint press conference of the ministers of information and health, the government linked the decisions concerning precautionary measures to hospital capacities, the availability of intensive care beds and the demand for oxygen equipment.

Dr. Firas Al-Hawari, Jordan’s minister of health, announced that the government is reviewing precautionary measures every two weeks after assessing the epidemiological situation in the country, indicating that Jordan has moved from the first wave of infections to the second in two weeks, with the second wave 30 percent more severe than the previous one.

Hawari revealed that lifting Friday and night-time curfews contributed to the increase in the number of COVID-19 related cases and deaths during the second wave by 48% and 18% respectively, stressing that “had it not been for the restrictive measures in place, the number of cases would have increased by 250%.”

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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
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Palestinians in Jenin Observe a General Strike

A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)
A Palestinian police officer attempts to disperse demonstrators during a protest against clashes between Palestinian security forces and militants in the northern occupied West Bank city of Jenin on December 21, 2024. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP)

Palestinians in the volatile northern West Bank town of Jenin are observing a general strike called by militant groups to protest a rare crackdown by Palestinian security forces.
An Associated Press reporter in Jenin heard gunfire and explosions, apparently from clashes between militants and Palestinian security forces. It was not immediately clear if anyone was killed or wounded. There was no sign of Israeli troops in the area.
Shops were closed in the city on Monday, the day after militants killed a member of the Palestinian security forces and wounded two others.
Militant groups called for a general strike across the territory, accusing the security forces of trying to disarm them in support of Israel’s half-century occupation of the territory.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority is internationally recognized but deeply unpopular among Palestinians, in part because it cooperates with Israel on security matters. Israel accuses the authority of incitement and of failing to act against armed groups.
The Palestinian Authority blamed Sunday’s attack on “outlaws.” It says it is committed to maintaining law and order but will not police the occupation.
The Palestinian Authority exercises limited authority in population centers in the West Bank. Israel captured the territory in the 1967 Mideast War, and the Palestinians want it to form the main part of their future state.
Israel’s current government is opposed to Palestinian statehood and says it will maintain open-ended security control over the territory. Violence has soared in the West Bank following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack out of Gaza, which ignited the war there.