Coronavirus: Jordan to send doctors, medical equipment to United States
Jordan will send doctors and medical equipment to the United States after Amman's aggressive measures to contain the coronavirus saw numbers remain below double digits for a tenth consecutive day.
In an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" programme on Sunday, King Abdullah II said Amman would send the supplies to its staunch ally as Washington struggles to battle the pandemic, with the number of deaths across the country topping 40,000.
"Do we understand that this is a new world that we're living in," the monarch said. "[The coronavirus is] an invisible enemy... Unless we work together, we will not be able to overcome this.
'The cases that we've had in past week are under 10 people every day, we average 15 give or take on a weekly basis, so it seems that we've got things under control and within the capabilities of our medical and health establishments'
- King Abdullah II of Jordan
"So our enemies of yesterday or those that were not friendly countries yesterday, whether we like it or not, are our partners today."
Jordan has reported a relatively low number of cases of the virus, with 412 cases to date, including seven deaths.
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Meanwhile, the US holds the highest number of worldwide Covid-19 cases, with more than 761,000 confirmed cases, and more than 40,000 deaths.
King Abdullah said that Jordan had also made plans to export medical equipment, including face masks, and send doctors to multiple countries within the next few weeks.
"The cases that we've had in past week are under 10 people every day, we average 15 give or take on a weekly basis, so it seems that we've got things under control and within the capabilities of our medical and health establishments."
King Abdullah also noted that Jack Ma, the CEO of Chinese e-commerce titan Alibaba, gave Jordan 100,000 virus testing kits that nearly "tripled our capacity overnight".
"Many individuals and countries have helped us as we have, in turn, been helping them," he said.
Lockdown measures effective
Since Jordan reported its first case of coronavirus on 2 March, the kingdom has implemented strict curfew measures, with residents at one point facing a year in jail if they left their homes to buy groceries, visit pharmacies or go on short walks.
Authorities have since eased the restrictions, with people now allowed out to buy food between 10 am and 6 pm.
"The lockdown... has helped Jordan sort of flatten the curve quite quickly," the monarch said.
As numbers continued to fall, the Jordanian government announced on Sunday that it would be easing restrictions in the three governorates of Tafilah, Karak and Ma'an - which have not recorded any cases of Covid-19.
Residents will be allowed to move freely between 10 am and 6 pm; however, universities, schools, mosques, churches, and fitness centres remain shut.
The easing of restrictions follows similar measures already taken in the southern port city of Aqaba on Sunday.
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