Gov’t boosting stock of masks, testing kits — Health minister

AMMAN — Jordan will receive additional masks and coronavirus testing kits in the coming days, Health Minister Saad Jaber said recently.

Speaking during an interview on Al Mamlaka TV on Sunday night, Jaber said that Jordan has asked China for five million masks, but that “there is difficulty in bringing them to the Kingdom”.

The minister said that local production has lately been reaching 30,000 masks per day and that the number has been “sufficient so far, but there is a need to boost it”.

Jaber also noted a shortage of coronavirus testing kits.

"We have, so far, received 6,000 kits and have used 4,000 of those. A Royal Jordanian plane is currently on its way to Singapore to bring in an additional 21,000 testing kits," he noted.

Jordan has purchased 30,000 testing kits in total, according to the minister, but "the process of delivering them to Jordan is very difficult because international air carriers and flight schedules are suspended".

Despite the air shipping challenges, however, Jaber noted that an additional 5,000 testing kits are currently on their way to the Kingdom on a plane from Dubai.

“The ministry is in critical need of these materials to protect the Ministry of Health’s cadres from the disease, because they are our first line of defence,” noted Jaber.

He added that needed materials include special suits and eye protection covering both sides of the eyes for medical personnel working with infected patients.

The ministry has been “receiving support from several sides”, according to Jaber, who noted that masks have been purchased at low prices from local producers and that a private hospital has donated six respirators to the ministry.

He added that citizens have also been offering their buildings for quarantine purposes, with one individual offering his hotel in Sweifieh.

“All the money that has been donated has been placed in a special account in the Central Bank of Jordan, and a board of directors composed of representatives from the government and the private sector is overseeing its expenditures,” Jaber concluded.