Jordan’s pandemic response brings sigh of relief to US expats

AMMAN — Amid the pandemonium that followed the Jordanian government’s decision to close land, air and sea borders on March 17 in efforts to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus, expatriates who decided to stay in Jordan, among them Americans, breathe a sigh of relief that their judgement did not fail them.

Residing in the heart of Amman, Nancy, a retiree from Dallas, Texas, who came to Jordan in early February with her husband, “feels fortunate to be in Jordan and believes the Jordanian government took swift action in tracking and isolating cases early on”.

The couple came to Jordan to sight-see but prolonged their visit after Nancy suffered from a shoulder injury.

The Jordanian government has been “open and transparent” with its citizens and Jordan's leadership and its “decisiveness” have enabled it to reopen safely, the couple said.

Former minister of Social Development and Professor Faisal Odeh Al Rfouh said that "Jordan is a law-abiding society”.

“Around 95 per cent of people obey the law and hence, when the call for the curfew was given, the people followed the directions — and this has helped in controlling the virus’ spread in an enormous way," he noted. 

Julia, a university student who refused to return to California after borders closed, said that countries in the Middle East and Southeast Asia have handled COVID-19 “more effectively” by taking early preventative measures. 

Jordan has been able to maintain low case numbers and has sent ventilators to the US and Japan to help suffering patients, and Julia believes that Jordan is “more than capable of keeping its residents safe from COVID-19”. 

The Jordanian government has kept its citizens and residents safe from COVID-19, and should not be underestimated, many expats believe.