Jordan News UpdatesPolice in the Tunisian capital shot and wounded a man who tried to storm the Interior Ministry on Friday, local media said.
It said that the police shot the man in the leg and brought him under control.
In a post on their official Facebook page, police unions called the man an extremist and published pictures of a knife and cleaver that they said the man had carried.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Jordanians marched at Al Husseini Mosque in downtown Amman after Friday prayer, rejecting the signing of a declaration document of intent by Jordan, the UAE and Israel.
The document includes the declaration of intent to negotiate the feasibility of a renewable energy project in Jordan to be implemented by a UAE company, in addition to a water desalination project to supply Jordan with 200 million cubic meters of water from the Mediterranean.
The protesters called on the government to repeal the document and the Jordanian-Israeli peace treaty, urging the government to search for other sources of water supply.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, on Friday, expressed condolences to the government and people of Russia over the victims of a Siberian coal mine that killed and injured scores of people, yesterday.
Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Haitham Abu Al-Foul voiced the Kingdom’s solidarity with Russia, expressing condolences to the families of the dead and wishing the injured a speedy recovery.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Fifty-one people have been killed in Russia’s worst mining disaster in a decade, prompting three days of mourning in Siberia’s Kemerovo region.
Among the dead were five rescue workers, although a sixth was found alive and taken to hospital in a serious condition.
The blast happened at the Listvyazhnaya mine when coal dust caught fire in a ventilation shaft on Thursday.
Rescuers suffocated as they tried to reach dozens of missing miners.
Source: Jordan News Agency
A World Health Organization (WHO) panel named the variant “Omicron” and classified it as a highly transmissible virus of concern, the same category that includes the Delta variant.
The WHO suggested the variant could pose greater risks than Delta, which is the world’s most prevalent variant and has fuelled relentless waves of infection on every continent.
Early evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection compared to other highly transmissible variants, the WHO said. That means people who contracted COVID-19 and recovered could be subject to catching it again.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Belgium detected Europe’s first confirmed case of the new variant of COVID-19 on Friday, and at the same time announced measures aimed at curbing a rapidly spreading fourth wave of coronavirus infections.
Health Minister Frank Vandenbroucke told a news conference that a case of variant B.1.1.529 had been found in an unvaccinated person who had developed symptoms and tested positive on Nov. 22.
Source: Jordan News Agency
European Union states have agreed to suspend travel from southern Africa after the detection of a new COVID-19 variant, the presidency of the EU said on Friday.
A committee of health experts from all 27 EU states “agreed on the need to activate the emergency break & impose temporary restriction on all travel into EU from southern Africa”, the Slovenian presidency of the EU said on Twitter.
Restrictions will apply to Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe, European Commission spokesperson Eric Mamer said on Twitter.
An EU official said that EU governments have also been asked to discourage travel to those countries.
Each of the 27 EU country is free to apply the new measures when it prefers. Some are already applying restrictions.
Source: Jordan News Agency
The Interior Ministry, based on a recommendation by the Health Ministry, decided to ban travel from seven African countries including South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Mozambique.
The decision came as a new variant identified as B.1.1.529 variant had already spread from South Africa and Botswana.
The decision stipulates that non Jordanians are banned from entering the Kingdom until after 14 days of their departure of the seven countries for other countries that do not have the new variant.
It also stipulates that Jordanians coming from the mentioned countries will be subject to 14-day institutional quarantine at their expense, regardless of their COVID-19 PCR test results.
The decision will go into effect as of November 28, 2021.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Rasmi Al-Khazaleh — The Regional Director of the Middle East and North Africa for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Dr. Heather Burke, stressed the importance of COVID-19 vaccination in mitigating disease transmission including the importance of following Jordan MOH guidance on booster shots for those eligible.
“CDC has developed evidence-based vaccination recommendations for the U.S., including age-specific and booster recommendations. While some countries in the region may align their vaccination policies with those of the U.S. CDC, not all do as these protocols are determined by leadership in the countries. The data are, however, clear and compelling that vaccination protects against COVID-19 infection, spread to others, and lessens risk of severe illness if someone does get infected.” Dr. Burke told Petra.
Booster shots are now available in Jordan for those aged 18 and older who received their second dose six months ago or longer.
“An extra vaccine dose six months after completion of the initial series will provide longer lasting protective immunity. Benefit exists for all those over 18 eligible for a booster but the data are especially clear that people age 50 years and older and those with underlying medical conditions would benefit from a booster shot. We know the risk of severe illness from COVID-19 increases with age and for those more medically vulnerable so the decision by Jordan to expand access to booster shots clearly follows the science,” said Burke.
Dr. Burke added that “We cannot predict the end of the pandemic, especially as the virus continues to circulate globally. However, we can say that taking the vaccine and adhering to health protocols contributes effectively to reducing the virus spread. Jordan would also benefit from assuring all those aged 12 and up eligible for vaccination are vaccinated, as coverage in Jordan for those aged 12-17 remains very low.”
Dr. Burke said that the U.S. CDC is eager to strengthen and expand public health support and collaboration with countries in the Middle East. It, therefore, has established the Regional Office for the Middle East and North Africa based in Oman in 2020 to help countries in the region fight the COVID-19 epidemic and potential future emerging diseases.
The CDC engages at the request of country leadership with the goal of collaborating on priority public health activities.
“The U.S. CDC provides support to countries in areas such as training, public health preparedness and response, and epidemiology and laboratory strengthening. There are successful experiences within many countries in the world and the Middle East, including Jordan,” she said.
Dr. Burke, a Keynote Speaker at the Seventh EMPHNET Regional Conference held in Amman by the Eastern Mediterranean Public Health Network (EMPHNET), said their partnership with the Jordan-based network helped the CDC on assessing the epidemiological situation of countries of the region, train staff working in the response to COVID-19 and outbreak investigation thanks to EMPHNET expertise.
Source: Jordan News Agency
Global authorities reacted with alarm on Friday to a new coronavirus variant detected in South Africa, with the EU and Britain among those tightening border controls as researchers sought to find out if the mutation was vaccine-resistant.
Hours after Britain banned flights from South Africa and neighboring countries and asked travellers returning from there to quarantine, the World Health Organization (WHO) cautioned against hasty measures.
Source: Jordan News Agency