7 COVID-19 cases recorded on Saturday

AMMAN — The Kingdom on Saturday registered seven new cases of COVID-19, including one local case, the government announced.

The new cases comprise a guest worker who tested positive at the Karameh border crossing, four Jordanians who are in quarantine hotels, including three who returned from Egypt and one from Pakistan, and two truck drivers who tested positive at the Omari border crossing, among them a Jordanian, according to a joint statement by the Prime Ministry and the Ministry of Health.  

The new cases increase the total number of infections in the Kingdom to 1,015 since the outbreak of the pandemic, said the statement, adding that 14 patients left Prince Hamzah Hospital on Saturday.

Epidemiological investigation teams conducted 6,745 random tests across the country on Saturday, increasing the total number of tests to 325,155, the statement added.

Meanwhile, 5,200 Jordanians have returned to the Kingdom in the third phase of repatriating citizens and students stranded abroad and are now lodging in quarantine at Dead Sea and Amman hotels, Brig. Gen. Mazen Faraiah, head of the coronavirus crisis cell, said on Saturday. 

Faraiah told the Jordan News Agency, Petra, that the e-bracelet monitoring system will be applied as of Monday on those who have completed the 14-day compulsory quarantine. 

He added that most infections were registered among Jordanians coming back from Egypt, amounting to 55 cases, noting that the increase in cases in the region is reflected on infections among returning Jordanians. Yet, quarantine procedures contributed to alleviating the spread of the pandemic locally, he added.

The third phase of evacuation of Jordanians through land borders from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iraq and Palestine will extend until June 24, Faraiah said, noting that the fourth phase is scheduled to start on July 10.  

He added that 140 Jordanians from Palestine are scheduled to arrive on Sunday, noting that work is still ongoing to receive more Jordanians returning from Saudi Arabia. 

On Friday, Jordan recorded seven coronavirus cases, according to a statement issued by the government.

The Friday cases included six truck drivers who tested positive at the Omari border crossing with Saudi Arabia, among them three Jordanians, in addition to one Jordanian who had recently returned from Egypt.