authorities in case of any signs/symptoms of infection. on 14 march, prime minister omar razzaz announced the following measures and directives that the government has undertaken to deal with the covid-19 virus and in light of the accelerating international developments: educational sector halting all educational institutions operations starting the morning of march 15 for the duration of two weeks. ministry of education to coordinate administrative staff work/shifts. the ministry of education will commence with the distant/remote learning plan through the ministry's e-site starting next week, and through television stations this week. travel arrangements in addition to previous announcements of halting air travel from certain countries effective 16 march, all air travel from/to the kingdom will be halted effective tuesday 17 march 2020 until further notice, except for commercial cargo. exempt from travel restrictions are diplomatic missions, international organizations provided they adhere to the ministry of health's directives including a self imposed 14 day quarantine, and immediate notification in case of any signs/symptoms of health authorities. all land/sea border crossings will be shut to passenger movement and only commercial cargo be allowed. advising jordanians currently abroad to remain at their current locations. jordanians in neighboring countries and urgently need to return home will be allowed entry through land/sea crossings subject to moh procedures. public events, religious events, tourism halting all public events and gatherings and advising citizens from congregating at social events (weddings, funerals) stressing on citizens the adherence to remain at home as much as possible and leave only if necessary. under the advise of the fatwa council and council of churches, halting prayer in all the kingdom's mosques and churches as a preventative measure halting of hospital and prison visits starting sunday 15 march and until further notice. closing of all historic tourist sites for one week in order to execute disinfection campaigns at these site halting all sports events, closing of all cinemas, swimming facilities, sports clubs and youth centers until further notice. banning argeeleh (hookah) and smoking in coffee shops and restaurants. violations will result in the closure. restaurants and coffee shops are to adhere to moh guidelines for distancing of seating. public and private sectors ministries, government departments, public/official establishments will remain open the government will cooperate with the chambers of industry and commerce in setting procedures for protecting private sector employees procedures for crises management the crisis cell will work around the clock to followup on the developments relating to covid-19, the following tasks force will be established: medical care task force border control, crossings and airport task force social protection task force strategic reserve task force (food and drugs) media followup task force on 17 march, the jordanian government announced several of precautionary measures which are : disrupting all institutions and official departments, with the exception of vital sectors determined by the prime minister, based on the recommendation of the concerned minister, according to the minister of state for information affairs amjad al-adayleh. minister al-adayleh added, during a press briefing, that the cabinet affirmed that the jordanian people must not leave the house except in the most urgent cases. the government decided to disable the private sector, except for the entire health sector, and vital sectors to be determined by the prime minister based on the recommendations of the minister of industry, trade and supply, and to follow the decisions of the ministry of labor regarding personnel affairs. the government prevented the gathering of more than 10 people, and prevented movement between the governorates, according to al-adayleh. he added, the suspension of operations and medical reviews is limited to emergency situations and emergency operations. it also decided to stop the printing of paper newspapers, as they contribute to the transmission of infection, to suspend the work of mass transportation, and to keep the work of pharmacies, catering centers, bakeries, and food, drug, water, fuel and electricity supply chains. and also it was decided to close the malls and commercial centers and allow only the opening of supply centers and pharmacies in them. the government decided to set up quarantine camps for the people who come from the land border crossing. a royal decree has been issued the same day, approving the cabinet's decision to announce the implementation of the national defence law no. 13 of 1992 in the kingdom, as of wednesday, 17 march 2020. article 2 of the defense law explains its objectives. it stipulates that, "upon a decision and a royal decree, a national defence law shall be passed in case of emergency that would threaten the national security or public safety in all parts of the kingdom or in a region due to war, disturbances, armed internal strife, public disasters or the spread of a pest or epidemic." however, the third article of the law states: the application of this law shall be entrusted to the prime minister to take the necessary measures and procedures so as to ensure public safety and defend the kingdom without being bound by the provisions of the regular laws in force. the prime minister exercises his powers according to written orders. the prime minister may delegate all or some of his powers to whomever he deems fit to do so throughout the kingdom or in a specific region thereof, subject to the conditions and restrictions that he appoints. the fourth article of the law states the powers of the prime minister under this law. the pm may exercise the following powers: placing restrictions on the freedom of people to gather, move, reside, and arrest or detain suspects or those who pose a threat to the national security and public order. assigning any person to perform any work or service within their ability. checking persons, places, and vehicles without being bound by the provisions of any other law, and ordering the use of appropriate force in the event of opposition. setting possession of movable and immovable property and postponing debt payment and the accrued liability. preventing or restricting the importation, exportation or transfer of goods from one place to another and prohibiting their concealment, destruction, purchase or bartering them, and setting their prices. seizing any land, building, road, or source of water and energy, removing any trees or installations on them, establishing facilities for defense purposes instead and ordering the concerned parties to manage, exploit and organize their use. evacuating or isolating some areas and imposing curfew on them. ordering some or all public stores to open and close at specific times. regulating and specifying transportation between different regions, blocking any road or water stream or changing its direction and preventing traffic or regulating it. monitoring messages, newspapers, publications, pamphlets, drawings, and all means of expression, publicity and advertisement before they are published and seizing, confiscating, suspending, and closing the places where they were prepared. preventing taking pictures or making designs or maps for any specific place or thing that might benefit the enemy, preventing having any photographic equipment or materials for making photos, designs and maps in such places and preventing staying for so long in those places without a legitimate excuse. cancelling licenses of firearms, ammunition, explosives, or explosive materials that are used in the manufacture of explosives, preventing their manufacture, sale, purchase, transfer, disposing them, ordering their delivery and seizure, and closing the shops where they are sold or stored. preventing the manufacture, sale, purchase or possession of telecommunications equipment and ordering their delivery and seizure. on 18 march the ministry of tourism and antiquities dedicates a round-the-clock toll free hotline number 91040 for enquirers and complaints of those under quarantine. on 20 march, the government has decided to impose a curfew in jordan, as part of its measures to fight coronavirus. citizens will be officially banned from moving in all regions of the kingdom, from 7:00 am tomorrow, until further notice. as he announced defense order no.2 during a press briefing today, minister of state for media affairs amjad adaileh pointed out that all the stores in all regions of the kingdom will be closed. on 22 march, the government allowed gas and water deliveries. minister of digital commerce and entrepreneurship mothanna gharaibeh announces distant learning platform. 70,000 students have started using this platform since this morning. the platform was developed in less than a week, to allow students to study from home. telecommunication companies agreed to provide free access to the platform daily from 6:00 am to 4:00 pm, the government, in turn, allowed access to an expanded range of frequencies to allow for the expansion of the services and provide additional needed bandwidth. minister of education dr. tayseer al no'aimi announces the launch of the e-learning platform starting 7:00 this morning until 16:00 for grades-12. the launch of the platform in response to his majesty's directives and the prime minister's continued follow-up to ensure the right to education for all students. the e-learning platform supplements the newly launched tv stations "jo darsak 1" and "jo darsak 2" designated for students of all grades. on 23 march, the government allowed doorstep deliveries of water, bread, and baby formula. however, the government will announce on tuesday, 24 march, specific times for people to get their needs within a mechanism that will be announced at that time. "anyone who violates the provisions of this order and the measures issued by the prime minister and the minister of defence shall be liable to immediate imprisonment for a period not exceeding one year," adaileh confirmed. as for emergency medical cases, citizens must inform the public security directorate (psd) or the civil defense directorate (cdd) to take the necessary measures to protect their health and safety according to the rules. people authorized by the prime minister and the minister of defense, based on their work nature, are excluded from the decision. on 24 march, prime minister omar razzaz announced that small neighborhood grocery and convenience stores along with pharmacies, drinking-water stores and bakeries, will be allowed to open from 10:00 to 18:00 starting wednesday 25 of march. citizens between the ages of 16-60 will be allowed to visit their neighborhood stores on foot only to get basic supplies; vehicles are still not permitted. persons are to travel individually and maintain a distance of no less than 1.5 meters between one another at all times. larger supermarkets are planned to be allowed to sell and deliver items to citizens homes starting thursday 26 march. this comes after the partially successful attempt to distribute bread to citizens directly to prevent them leaving their homes. on 25 march, the ministry of health receives 21,000 additional test kits and expands testing efforts. the moh reaffirms that it is ready to test any suspected cases and urges citizens to contact the hotline 111 for all queries regarding "corona". on 26 march, the prime minister announces defense order #3 for the year 2020: disobeying order #2 of defense law for 2020 will result in the following punishments: a fine between 100 and 500 jds for the first offence. imprisonment for no more than one year and/or a fine of 100-500 jds for the second offence any vehicle used without a permit will be impounded for 30 days. any permitted store that opens outside of designated times will be fined no less than 1000 jds or the closure of the store for 14 days. any store that opens without permission to open will be closed for 3 months and/or fined 3000 jds. on 30 march, the government started releasing jordanians held in 14-day mandatory quarantine (inbound travelers). all individuals will sign/commit to self quarantine for the next 14 days. the government will undertake the transport of all individuals without cost to minimize interaction, mixing and exposure en route to their residences. 3337 persons of a total of 3679 were released. 2026 were held in hotels in amman, 1311 in the dead sea region, and 16 in aqaba. on 31 march, the government started releasing non-jordanians held in 14-day mandatory quarantine back to their residences. 1148 persons of 67 nationalities will be returned home after signing a commitment to another 14 days of self isolation at home. the government will also undertake the transport of these individuals as with jordanians without cost to minimize interaction, mixing and exposure en route to their residences. the government also announced defence order #4 for the