Day 9 of Jordan lockdown: Spirits raised and acquired…
We stayed up late last night in conversations back to the US, so we headed outside a bit later than usual today.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed playing backgammon for a few hours on our sunny deck, warm despite a cooler air temperature.
After that we took a long walk circling round our hill on the empty streets, for a splendid view of the famous Amman hilltop Citadel. We bumped – at proper social distance – into a Jordanian-German couple working on aid projects in Jordan. During a very enjoyable conversation, we all agreed that the government was doing an exemplary job, though none of us loved the restrictions.
Our ability to deal with the challenges was much improved last night as we found a source of vodka, delivered to our door. All liquor stores have been closed for 10 days so we have had to face it all without such resources. We found our bootleg source through a lively Facebook group for expats here, then worked out a deal just in time for the evening. The prices were only slightly higher than the already steep pricing in normal times ($50 or so for a liter of brand vodka).
We also cheered the news that only 11 new cases of Covid-19 have appeared in Jordan. And half of these were still due to that infected Canadian woman and her irresponsible wedding in Irbid two weeks ago. A few of the rest were from those thousands who arrived in the country a couple of weeks ago, but had been sequestered in posh hotels since. After testing, most are expected to leave these hotels tomorrow for a mandatory two-week home quarantine.
We all hope these low numbers can be sustained. As the Health Minister (whom one commentator said had won the hearts of all Jordanians with his calm, business-like, transparent and straight talk) pledged, “We will not rest before the number of cases reaches zero for several days so that we can defeat this pandemic.” We read how the military and police have taken charge of extensive disinfecting operations as well as curfew management in cities. We were nearly sprayed the other day by a passing truck. Indeed, every day it seems the ministers affirm progress in their initiatives to keep things safe and supplies moving into our hands.
All the country’s leaders, meanwhile, have donated their March salaries to the general budget, while also soliciting donations from companies and individuals to cover the extraordinary costs incurred by the government and all of its people.
