Calls for abiding by strict health compliance measures get louder

AMMAN — People across governorates have been asking for “stricter measures” in markets, shops and malls to ensure compliance with Ministry of Health instructions.

“Almost no one follows measures as strictly as they do in Amman, especially when it comes to wearing masks and gloves as well as maintaining a safe distance between shoppers,” said Montaser Rawashdeh, a resident of Jerash, in a Facebook post.

Photos posted online from Zarqa, Jerash and Irbid purportedly showed large numbers of shoppers in shops, malls, vegetables and fruit markets, and others without keeping a safe distance between each other and without wearing masks or gloves. The photos sparked disapproval on social platforms.

“At a time when random testing has shown positive cases in the governorates, some reckless people choose to ignore health precautions and endanger the lives of 10 million citizens,” tweeted Hussein Sameer, a citizen residing in Irbid.

He added: “As someone who works in Amman, I spot a huge difference between it and the other governorates. For one, most shops in the capital do not serve you if you are not wearing masks and gloves, and malls will not let you enter unless you do.”

However, other residents of Amman said online that some shops in the capital do not follow instructions, but that “it is definitely not as bad as the governorates,” as put by Hala Qutami, an Amman resident.

Director of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply in Zarqa Emad Bzour said in a statement that control and inspection team, in cooperation with the Public Safety Committee in the governorates, have been informed of the violations and are now conducting field trips to the markets to ensure abidance to health instructions.

He added that “as the Kingdom opens back, violations will happen, but the control teams are taking strict measures against the owners of the violating shops, closing the stores and referring their owners to the governor and then the public prosecutor to be subject to the legal penalties that follow.”

Vehicles that sell food or merchandise in the streets “should be of vital concern to the government, as they do not follow even the most basic conditions of public health and safety, as passers-by touch everything and anything without gloves,” said Mohammad Aqrabawi, a resident of Zarqa.

For his part, the Mayor of Zarqa Municipality Emad Momani said in a statement that the municipal cadres tasked with inspecting markets will “intensify their field trips and take strict measures against the vehicles or stands that violate health instructions.”

He also noted that the municipality will launch an initiative to distribute sterilisers, gloves and masks to shop owners and citizens in the markets.