Coronavirus infections rose in Jordan on Friday after a truck driver residing in Mafraq Governorate, east of Amman, tested positive.
The driver had not self-quarantined upon his return to the country around 14 days ago after his test results came back negative, yet he began showing symptoms on Wednesday.
The authorities this week tested people who had come into close contact with him, raising the number of infections by 24, only a day after Jordan reported no new cases for eight consecutive days.
Among those infected are the man’s family members and friends, as well as a nurse at a public hospital.
The driver has also infected people in Irbid and Ramtha cities, while another case was discovered in a student who returned from Russia last week.
Citizens held the government responsible for the new infections, accusing it of not enforcing quarantine measures on truck drivers crossing the land border into Jordan.
Health Minister Saad Jaber announced on Friday that quarantine centers are being set up on the border, where drivers would stay for 17 days, a period long enough to discover if a person is infected or not.
Activists on social media wondered how the government imposed a 17-day quarantine on students returning from abroad, while similar measures were not applied to truck drivers.
Infections among drivers were first recorded in mid-April.
News has also circulated that some 245 truck drivers haven’t been tested upon their arrival in Jordan.
Jordan has been preparing to begin lifting measures so that life would return to normal gradually through new government decisions that were announced mid-last week.
The Kingdom has recorded 508 cases since its outbreak early March, while nine elderly suffering from chronic diseases have died.
The Jordanian army, in coordination with the security services and the Queen Alia International Airport management, announced on Friday the end of the first evacuation phase of about 3,000 students from abroad.
The first phase began on Tuesday and ended early Friday.
Director of the Coronavirus Crisis Cell Operations Brigadier General Mazen El Faraya has earlier announced a plan to return about 23,000 stranded students and citizens from abroad.
