Jordan confirms first case of coronavirus

AMMAN — The Kingdom has registered its first coronavirus case after a Jordanian citizen arriving from Italy tested positive for the virus, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported on Monday.

The citizen was being housed in a quarantine centre for days prior to being transferred to the epidemic isolation ward at Prince Hamzah Hospital. 

Health Minister Saad Jaber said that the Jordanian citizen arrived in the Kingdom with his friend from Italy two weeks ago. 

The minister noted that a specialised medical team has been dispatched to the house of the patient to sterilise the residence and impose house quarantine on his family for 14 days, according to Petra.

The friend underwent tests whose results showed that he is clear of the disease but he was sent to quarantine pending another test in a week, Jaber said. "If he is proved free of the virus, he will be discharged from the quarantine."

Jaber added that if the number of coronavirus cases reaches 20 in Jordan, schools will be closed and public gatherings will be banned, Petra added.