Govt places part of Jordan under 48-hour lockdown

2021-01-23 HKT 04:42″ title=”Notices sprung up across the so-called "restricted area" in the early hours of Saturday morning. Photo: RTHK”>

Notices sprung up across the so-called "restricted area" in the early hours of Saturday morning. Photo: RTHK
2021-01-23 HKT 04:42″ title=”Tents seen on Shanghai Street are expected to be used for the testing stations. Photo: RTHK”>

Tents seen on Shanghai Street are expected to be used for the testing stations. Photo: RTHK

The government on Saturday morning locked down an area in Jordan, citing chapter 599J of the Regulations on Disease Prevention and Control.

The area designated as ”restricted” in Jordan runs from Woosung Street in the east, Nanking Street in the south, Battery Street in the west, to Kansu Street in the north.

People must stay at home and undergo mandatory testing, according to government arrangements. Nobody is allowed to leave until everyone in the area has taken a test and the results have been confirmed.

The government’s goal is to complete the action in about 48 hours.

The authorities stated that temporary sampling stations will be set up in the “restricted areas” and people will be required to get tested before midnight on Saturday.

People will be organised into groups to undergo nucleic acid testing at sampling stations, where throat and nasal cavity swabs will be used for sampling.

The government will arrange for people with mobility impairments and the elderly, including residents of elderly homes in the district, to undergo testing at home, or arrange for them to collect and submit deep throat saliva samples by themselves.

The authorities said that they understand that this arrangement will cause inconvenience to the public, and have arranged sufficient testing resources to conduct testing for everybody in the “restricted area” as soon as possible.

The aim is to complete the operation within about 48 hours, so that the public can start to return to work at around 6 am on Monday. When the relevant announcement is officially revoked, the government will make a separate announcement.

If an employee is unable to go to work due to the announcement, the government hopes that the employer can deal with it at their discretion and not deduct the employee’s salary and benefits.

The government has also prepared simple food and cleaning supplies for residents. The Home Affairs Department has set up hotlines 2399 6949 and 2835 1473, and also set up hotlines 3755 6816 specifically for ethnic minorities.

In addition, the government has also issued mandatory inspection notices for all premises in the “restricted area”. Anyone who has been in the “restricted area” for more than two hours in the past 14 days, even if not in the “restricted area” when the relevant declaration takes effect, they must also undergo compulsory testing before midnight on Saturday.