Jordan’s Prime Minister Says His Country Contained COVID-19 By ‘Helping The Weakest’ – OPB News

"From day one, any discussion of herd immunity or survival of the fittest or, you know, 'Say farewell to the elderly,' are the things that just did not sound right for us," Jordan's Prime Minister Omar Razzaz tells NPR. "So we went for a very different model in Jordan, based on social solidarity."

Jane Arraf/NPR

Jordanian Prime Minister Omar Razzaz sits in the front room of his family home in a middle-class Amman neighborhood of traditional white stone houses with small gardens and low walls. Unusually, in a region where senior officials typically live in gated compounds far from public view, the residential street has been kept open to traffic to minimize disruption to Razzazsneighbors.

Razzaz, an MIT and Harvard-educated economist, was appointed by Jordans King Abdullah II to head a new government two years ago, following anti-government protests that were sparked by IMF-mandated tax increases seen as bypassing the rich. Although hed served previously as education minister, Razzaz was seen as a relativeoutsider.

The small, resource-poor kingdom is surrounded by dangers from neighboring countries: a war in Syria, conflict between the U.S. and Iran in Iraq, and Israeli plans to annex parts of the West Bank it occupies something Jordan says poses a danger to the entireregion.

But those issues have taken a back seat to controlling the coronavirus a feat Jordan has accomplished with an early and severe lockdown. The country of roughly 10 million has registered 1,131 coronavirus cases, with 11deaths.

Razzaz sees vulnerable groups in other countries paying a disproportionate price for policies that dont prioritize them, and says Jordans approach from the start was to protect the mostvulnerable.

From day one, any discussion of herd immunity or survival of the fittest or, you know, Say farewell to the elderly, are the things that just did not sound right for us, Razzaz tells NPR. So we went for a very different model in Jordan, based on social solidarity, in fact, helping the weakest. We did everything we can to make sure our children, our elderly, our refugees you know, the haves and the have-nots areprotected.

In mid-March, Jordan was one of the first countries in the region to shut its airports and borders for all but essential goods. Arriving passengers were sent into compulsory quarantine. All but emergency workers and security forces were confined to their homes, with even grocery stores shut and the army distributing bread to poorneighborhoods.

The government cut public sector salaries and allowed businesses to reduce workers wages, but banned them from laying offemployees.

Razzaz says in the last four months, almost half of Jordans population received some form of governmentassistance.

This week, the country announced it would reopen its airport to flights from a dozen countries where coronavirus rates are also low. With no cases of local transmission on most days, Jordan has stopped enforcing mask wearing and reopened restaurants and shoppingmalls.

Razzaz says industry production is now back to pre-coronavirus standards, and Jordan is exporting pharmaceuticals and food to othercountries.

Jordan took a chance with the lockdown, he says, but felt it had little choice, given the prospect of its health care system being overwhelmed with COVID-19cases.

When we took the steps that we took, we did that not because we were certain about the outcomes. So theres always hindsight But were very, very glad we did what we did. And a lot of countries that waited longer, including the U.S., are having a harder time containing the coronavirus, hesays.

Razzaz and health officials note Jordan remains on guard for a possible resurgence of the virus as its airportreopens.

The longer-term challenge is an already fragile economy in which unemployment is rising sharply. Tens of thousands of Jordanians have lost their jobs in the Arab Gulf states, as those economies decline due to the pandemic and a plunge in oilprices.

The official unemployment rate for the first quarter of the year had already topped 19%. Some economists expect the real rate could reach 30% by the end of the year, with many of the unemployed youngpeople.

Razzaz says, though, he is not worried by the prospect of renewed demonstrations that could be sparked by the economiccrisis.

While some countries worry a lot about social unrest, we see it as people expressing views about that hardship, he says. Were going to be proactive with employment and job creation. And if you get frustrated and want to shout, we have a constitution and set of laws and institutions that allow that to happen in democraticways.

The other wild card facing the kingdom is Israels annexation threat. Jordan, along with Egypt, is one of only two Arab countries in the region to have signed a peace treaty with Israel. Jordans king says he might suspend the 26-year-old treaty if Israel takes unilateral steps to claim sovereignty over parts of the WestBank.

Israel cites Jewish ties and a strategic need for it, but most of the international community opposes such a move, which could doom Palestinian hopes for an independentstate.

Jordan, where a majority of citizens are of Palestinian origin, would be the country most affected by Israels move, and instability could ripple across theregion.

Razzaz says Jordan has not changed its insistence on the need for an independent Palestinian state alongsideIsrael.

If you dont provide a just solution for the Palestinian people and sovereignty, you are pushing them and the region towards despair and extremism. So will there be conflict under such conditions? Yes, there will be, definitely, he says. I think what His Majesty and Jordan have been doing is sounding the alarm bells.

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Jordan's Prime Minister Says His Country Contained COVID-19 By 'Helping The Weakest' - OPB News