Jordan announces 48-hour sweeping nationwide curfew

Jordan announced a 48-hour sweeping nationwide curfew that would start from Thursday midnight, in a steppedup bid to stem the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), a government spokesman said.

Two weeks ago, the government relaxed a tight curfew that allowed people to go on foot during the day to buy groceries to ease daily life for the nearly 10 million inhabitants.

Last Thursday, the kingdom imposed a 24-hour curfew to allow medical staff unimpeded entry to areas they suspect the virus is spreading in, a move which brought public life to a complete standstill.

Egypt will also extend a nationwide nighttime curfew by a further two weeks in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouli said on Wednesday.

He told a news conference the measure would be enforced from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and run until April 23.

The curfew would start an hour later, he said, to avoid overcrowding on public transport.

Schools and universities, as well as

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Curfew in Jordan will begin from Thursday midnight.

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Egypt will also extend a nationwide nighttime curfew by a further two weeks.

restaurants and cafes would also remain closed until then, while food outlets would be allowed to offer delivery services only.

To stem the spread of the coronavirus, authorities have also halted air traffic until the end of the month and closed tourist and religious sites. Penalties against violators including fines of up to 4,000 Egyptian pounds (just over $250) and even prison, the prime minister said.

Madbouli also announced that Cabinet members will take a 20 percent salary cut for three months, and allocate that sum to underprivileged Egyptians. Egypt’s Health Ministry has so far declared 94 fatalities out of 1,450 confirmed cases of COVID-19.