AMMAN — As the city prepares to reopen and welcomes the
first tourist plane since the beginning of the pandemic, Aqaba recorded a
positive Indian COVID-19 variant case on Tuesday.
اضافة اعلان
The Indian sailor who tested positive for the virus arrived
in Aqaba via King Hussein International Airport a few days ago, according to a
media statement from Saeb Abu Abboud, director of Aqaba’s health directorate.
According to Abu Abboud, the sample was sent to Amman
laboratories due to the lack of capabilities in Aqaba, and the lab confirmed
that the Indian sailor is positive for the Indian virus three days following
the Indian national’s arrival.
The variant, a possible cause of the recent rise in
COVID-19 cases in India, is classified by the World Health Organization as “a variant of
interest,” suggesting it may have mutations that would make the virus more
transmissible, cause more severe disease, or evade vaccine immunity. Other
strains with known risks, such as those first detected in the United Kingdom,
Brazil, and South Africa, have been categorized as “variants of concern”, a
higher threat level.
Abu Abboud added that the sailor was under quarantine
throughout his stay in Jordan, in line with the approved and applicable health
protocol, had no contact with anyone during this period except his driver, and
left the Kingdom through King Hussein International Airport.
The sailor’s driver tested positive for COVID-19, but test
results showed he was infected the British variant before meeting the sailor,
according to Abu Abboud.
The driver and his family are under a ten-day quarantine,
Abu Abboud added, noting that his family members has so far all tested negative
for the coronavirus.
The sailor does not represent the first case of the Indian
variant identified in Jordan. Three other cases of the Indian variant have been
recorded, among individuals who had not recently traveled.
Additionally, on Monday, a tourist who had recently arrived
from Bulgaria on the first tourism flight to reach Aqaba since the pandemic
began tested positive for COVID-19.
Sharhabeel Madi, Commissioner for Tourism and Economic
Affairs at the Aqaba Special Economic Zone Authority (
ASEZA), told
Jordan News
that the government manages the tourism and health situations excellently, and
they are dealing with the infected cases according to standardized protocols to
ensure safety and health.
“The reopening of the tourism sector is still going ahead
and we are waiting to receive many tourist trips at the end of next week,” Madi
said.
Minister of Tourism Nayef Al-Fayez told
Jordan News “we deal
with the data according to the developments in the epidemiological situation
and there are measures and international measures that we adopt to ensure the
safety of citizens.”
“We need to start from a positive, but logical and realistic
point as well. Globally, all indications point to the fact that the COVID-19
crisis has no clear end, so we must deal with it as part of the ‘new normal,’”
he said. “Life must go on, but within all measures that guarantee safety. Some
say that we should close our borders and isolate the state in order to preserve
the safety of citizens, but the question is for how long?”
Fayez said that controlling the virus requires following the
public safety protocols and conditions and receiving
vaccinations. He also
stressed that this crisis is not exclusive to Jordan, but rather is global.
MP Ahmad Al-Sarahneh, the head of the Health Committee in
the Lower House, said that the solution cannot be more closures or curfews.
“The economic situation no longer allows for more closures,” he said. “We must
not be pessimistic, and we have to wait for the coming days to see what
happens.”
Despite several requests for comment, officials from the
Ministry of Health did not respond.
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