Jordan to reopen airports to 'low risk' countries in August

AMMAN — Jordan will reopen its airports to commercial flights next month after a near five-month shutdown imposed to stem the spread of the coronavirus, an official said Sunday.

Civil aviation commission Chief Haitham Misto told state television that flights from 22 "low risk" countries will be allowed from August 5.

The countries listed by the health ministry include Austria, Canada, China, Denmark, Georgia, Germany, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Malaysia, New Zealand, Switzerland and Thailand, according to AFP.

Travellers from those countries will not need to be isolatea for 14 days when they reach Jordan but must be tested for the virus before arriving, Misto said, adding that the list would be updated every two weeks.

Transport Minister Khaled Saif said that those travellers must show proof of having spent two weeks in one of the countries on the list before arriving in Jordan, according to AFP. (See story on page 3)

Anyone providing false information will be fined JD10,000, he said. Meanwhile, Health Minister Saed Jaber said that 14 new COVID-19 cases, all from abroad, were recorded in the Kingdom on Sunday, increasing the tally to 1,168.

Addressing  a press conference, the minister said that new cases included 12 arrivals to the Kingdom, eight from Saudi Arabia,  two from Iraq,  two from Syria and two from Ukraine, who all have been in quarantine at designated hotels.

Among the new cases were two Jordanian truck drivers who tested positive at the Omari border crossing [with Saudi Arabia], Jaber said, adding that five recovered patients left Prince Hamzah Hospital, leaving 110 COVID-19 cases currently receiving treatment.

Jaber said that 6,658 virus tests were conducted on Sunady, bringing the cumulative number of coronavirus tests administered since the beginning of the crisis to 565,109.