Coronavirus: Jordan prime minister hints at easing curfew

Bisher Al Khasawneh defends handling of pandemic as Jordanian economy contracts

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian police personnel guard at a checkpoint during the second day of a nationwide curfew, imposed for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Closed shops are seen during the nationwide curfew for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Closed shops are seen during the nationwide curfew for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in downtown Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

General view showing empty streets, during the nationwide curfew for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

General view showing empty streets, during the nationwide curfew for two days, amid fears of a rising number of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

A healthcare worker takes a man's nasal swab sample as he checks for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) at a drive-thru testing station in Amman, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordanian healthcare workers throw away protective gear after taking nasal swab samples for the coronavirus at a neighborhood of Amman, during the nationwide curfew for two days, amid fears of a rising number of cases, Jordan. REUTERS

Jordan’s prime minister on Sunday defended an almost four-week curfew that has further damaged the country's economy, but said lockdown measures could soon be eased.

Bisher Al Khasawneh told a meeting of merchants that bans to try to contain a surge in coronavirus infections would continue until the end of the year, while “we assess our room for manoeuvre in the context of lowering curfew hours”.

Jordan is under a renewed curfew since parliamentary elections on November 10.

Lockdown measures this year compounded a decade-long economic slowdown, and high employment and poverty rates.

“We are aware that there are big difficulties and that we are in a narrow financial space due to a number of mostly external factors,” Mr Al Khasawneh told the Chamber of Commerce.

He was speaking days after official data showed unemployment reached a record 23.9 per cent in the third quarter, compared with 19.1 per cent in the same period last year.

The government says declining economic activity related to the pandemic is costing millions of dollars in lost taxes and fees a day.

But in unveiling the 2021 budget last week it forecast steady spending of 9.9 billion dinars ($14bn) and a steady deficit of 2bn dinars.

Mr Al Khasawneh said the closure of restaurants and other businesses since early November was “necessary and fundamental" for the government to avoid pressure on the health system”.

But he said “safe opening of affected sectors” could follow the easing of the curfew, without addressing specific grievances.

Business owners say the government has not taken significant steps to ease the tax burden or lower Customs duties to ease the effects of the lockdowns.

They criticised it for going ahead with plans to force thousands of small enterprises to pay social security dues and a minimum wage law despite economic retraction officially forecast at 3 per cent this year.

Jordan is a relatively open economy but officials adopted a more interventionist style since the pandemic.

They made it clear that the authorities could command private resources to deal with the crisis, using terms such as “national economy” and portraying economic growth as achieved in partnership with the government.

The authorities went ahead with the November 10 parliamentary election despite many regarding it as a needless move during the pandemic.

Turnout to elect the mostly nominal legislature was a record low at less than 30 per cent.

But the elections sparked curfew breaches by clans celebrating results or rioting by supporters of candidates who did not win.

The mass breaches caused King Abdullah to replace the interior minister and dented the image of the government maintaining control over the coronavirus response.

Since March, Jordan has been under the equivalent of a state of emergency as authorities battled the spread of the pandemic.

Health Ministry figures on Sunday showed 2,576 new cases and 46 deaths in line with what the authorities say is a decline in the rate of increase in infections over the past 10 days.

The official death toll from the coronavirus in Jordan surpassed 3,000 last week, with registered cases exceeding 237,000.

The country’s population of 10 million is officially under curfew from 10pm to 6am and all day on Fridays.