JMIR Publications

ABSTRACT

As of 12th April 2020, a total of 389 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Jordan. To control this imminent threat, Jordan has enforced public health infection prevention and control measures, called for social distancing, seized all forms of inbound and outbound movement/ international travel, and enacted the Defence Law that transferred the authority to Minister of Defence to work and formulate orders according to the situation. In an effort to support the government in anticipating the requirements of the health system in the upcoming period, an in-depth reflection and examination of different scenarios of the disease spread were developed. This viewpoint suggested different strategies and measures for case detection and contact tracing, clinical management of cases, public health system functioning, and civil society organizations contribution. It is necessary to accelerate containment of the disease to protect the economy and to maintain the continuity of some activities to mitigate the subsequent social, economic and financial impacts. This requires finding a coping mechanism for a period that may be prolonged until laboratories develop a vaccine. In specific, it is strongly recommended to promote community health awareness towards public health prevention and control measures, increase the efficiency and comprehensiveness of the epidemiological investigation/ active and passive surveillance, and employ technology and digital health solutions to track cases and contacts. It is also recommended to increase and expand resources of intensive care units including respirators, increase the capacity and the number of trained health staff in the area of public health and epidemiology, ensure continued provision of essential public health programs and mobilize the resources of non-governmental sector and donors to provide services for refugees and vulnerable populations.