Coronavirus: 400 arrested in Jordan for violating nationwide curfew

Nearly 400 people have been arrested in Jordan for violating an indefinite curfew introduced on Saturday that bans people from leaving their homes even to purchase food.

Breaching the anti-coronavirus orders, thought to be the most stringent to be applied nationally anywhere in the world, is punishable with up to one year in prison.

The start of the curfew was signalled at 7am on Saturday morning by air-raid sirens that sounded across the capital, Amman.

At least 392 people had been arrested for ignoring the measures by Saturday afternoon, Jordan’s Roya TV said.

All businesses in the Middle Eastern kingdom have been closed, including supermarkets and pharmacies. “Anyone going outside will be subjecting themselves to punishment,” the justice minister, Bassam Talhouni, told Jordan’s al-Mamlaka news channel.

The government said it would announce a mechanism for people to buy food on Tuesday.

MORE: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/mar/21/coronavirus-jordan-begins-nationwide-curfew-for-10m-citizens

Coronavirus: 400 arrested in Jordan for violating nationwide curfew

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