The Jordanian government has imposed an open-ended nationwide curfew March 20, two days after it called on citizens to stay home and avoid leaving unless necessary. Prime Minister Omar Razzaz, in his capacity as defense minister and under an emergency law, ordered the curfew as the number of those infected with coronavirus increased — reaching 112 cases March 23 — and as citizens ignored the call for self-isolation.

At 7 a.m. on March 20, sirens were heard all over the country, announcing the beginning of the curfew, which affected roughly 10 million people. Hours before, army, police and civil defense personnel were deployed throughout the kingdom to enforce the curfew. Those violating it — and more than 400 people did on day one — face immediate jail time, without trial, of no more than a year, and a fine.

Jordan was among the first countries in the region to adopt an immediate response plan to contain the spread of the virus. In addition to sealing off its borders and suspending all flights, giving all public sector employees two weeks of leave and suspending schools and universities, the central bank took a number of steps, including dropping the main policy rate by 100 basis points to 2.5% and reducing the cash reserve requirement that banks must maintain to release an additional liquidity of around 550 million Jordanian dinars ($775 million). The central bank also called on banks to reschedule loans and offer appropriate grace periods with no additional charge to their clients.

Once Razzaz announced the activation of the Defense Law March 17, he issued Defense Order No. 1, suspending some articles of the 2014 Social Security Law. Under that order, the Social Security Corporation reduced the social security subscription ratio for institutions and employees from 21.75% to 5.25%. The move aims to alleviate the financial burden on both employer and employees.