Jordan on Tuesday closed border crossings with Israel and the West Bank and its seaports to shipping from Egypt as well as barred overland passenger traffic from Iraq to protect the kingdom from coronavirus, Jordanian Health Minister Saad Jaber said on Monday.
The government has also banned travel to Lebanon and Syria and will bar entry to travelers from France, Germany, and Spain from Monday; Jaber told a news conference.
Jordan announced earlier this month that a man who had arrived on a flight from Italy had tested positive for coronavirus, the first case confirmed in the country. Jordanian authorities have not announced any new cases since.
Jaber said the moves approved by the Cabinet were part of emergency measures that also included reducing airline service to Egypt by half and only allowing travel in cases of emergency.
“These measures are aimed at minimizing the chances of the virus entering and its spread,” Jaber told reporters.
Only overland commercial traffic would be allowed from Jordan's northern border crossing with Syria, and to the east with Iraq via the Karameh crossing.
The move will affect the daily flow of thousands of people from the Palestinian territories who have close family ties in Jordan.
It will also impact tens of thousands of Egyptian workers who comprise Jordan’s largest expatriate workforce, crossing daily by sea from Egypt’s Sinai region.