AMMAN — Defense Order 35, banning the entry
of individuals into public places as well as public and private institutions if
they have not taken two doses of the
COVID-19 vaccine, has officially become
effective with the turn of the new year, bringing with it a divisive discussion
on affected businesses and commercial activities in the Kingdom.
اضافة اعلان
Chairman of the
Amman Chamber of Commerce
Khalil Haj Tawfiq, who represents the interests of the Jordanian business
community and private sector, told
Jordan News that Defense Order 35
could create some difficulties for business owners, voicing reservations about
the fact that the order applies to all businesses, regardless of their size. “I
am not sure that small businesses have the capability to carry out these
government-mandated checks on the vaccination status of individuals,” Haj
Tawfiq said.
According to Haj Tawfiq, large businesses
like malls and banks have the financial capacity to hire inspectors and
security guards to implement the order’s vaccination checks, and since small
businesses are not as capable of carrying out such measures, “they should be
exempted from these specific requirements”.
Additionally, he pointed out that
punishing business owners for customers’ non-compliance is not the right
approach. “Business owners should be held accountable for the vaccination
status of their own employees,” he said. He agreed that everyone should get
vaccinated, noting that 95 percent people working in the commercial sector are
vaccinated. But, he believes that “it is illogical to penalize business owners
for the misconduct of customers” and that he is against the idea of closures as
a means of punishing businesses.
“We, at the Amman Chamber of Commerce,
were not consulted before the implementation of Defense Order 35. Instead of
devising punishments for those who have not been vaccinated, I think a better
approach would have been to create incentives that would encourage people to
get vaccinated instead,” Haj Tawfiq said.
Article 3b of the
Defense Order stipulates
that “establishments shall be penalized with a fine of JD100 for the first
violation, JD200 for the second violation, JD300 for the third violation, and
in case the violation is repeated, the establishment will be shut down for one
week.”
In contrast, Ziad Househ, a Jordanian
businessman who owns a chain of bars and restaurants, told
Jordan News that the
provisions of Defense Order 35 are excellent and stand as the right approach
that the country needed to take. “I don’t believe that it will negatively
affect the Jordanian economy, because now people will feel less afraid of going
to public places and restaurants, since being confident that the populace is
vaccinated creates a sense of relief for people.”
Househ said that since the start of the
pandemic, he appointed an employee whose specific role has been to check
customers’ vaccination status, and that he did not view the appointment of this
employee as a burden or additional cost on his enterprises. “I do not see the
need to amend any part of Defense Order 35; all of the government’s decisions
relating to the pandemic have been sound,” Househ noted.
Similarly, Jordanian restaurant owner Ehab
Akroush corroborated the praise towards Order 35 and related instructions,
saying that he believed the measure was the correct way to respond to the pandemic.
“Personally, I am in favor of these regulations. I do not expect my customer
base to shrink as a result of this government mandate. This is because a vast
majority of our customers are vaccinated, and all of my employers are fully
vaccinated.”
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