Two ministers in the Jordanian government have been axed for going against COVID-19 rules. The ministers have resigned and replacements have been made immediately.
Jordan ministers lose job for flouting COVID-19 laws
Jordan Justice and interior ministers have resigned after they were caught attending a party at a bar. This action of theirs disregarded the state COVID-19 rules. Jordan Prime Minister Bisher al-Khasawneh said he has accepted their resignation letter. The two ministers were Samir Mobeideen and Bassam Talhouni.
They were accused of violating Jordan emergency law, a few days after it was enacted to limit the increase of COVID-19 infections. Jordan has seen a surge in infections, particularly of a new variant that has ravaged the nation. According to the news report, the ministers went to the party with about ten individuals when the policy allows a maximum of five.
This disobedience by these ministers sparked national outrage as huge fines were imposed on defaulters. New ministers were appointed to fill their positions immediately. More security forces have been put on alert to retain anybody that violates the COVID-19 rule.
Restrictions heavily monitored in Jordan due to rise in Covid-19 transmission
Thousands of shops have been closed and businesses are put down in strict compliance with the COVID-19 policy. This is regarded as one of the biggest breakdowns of the year to combat the virus. The government sent many security personnel to various checkpoints to monitor the curfew. Health officials in the country have insisted that the surge in infection rate is due to civil disobedience.
The new restriction’s policy states that individuals caught not putting on face marks are due to be fined $150, which is a huge amount of money in this nation where the pandemic has increased the unemployment rate higher. Jordan has seen about 400,000 cases and 3,562 deaths. It hasn’t started the administration of vaccines and hopes that the COVAX initiative will help them.