Jordan records first mpox case in 2024, assures public 'no lockdown'

Jordan's health ministry has recorded an mpox case for a non-Jordanian resident, state news agency Petra said on Monday, adding that the person was currently in isolation.

The health ministry said the case was not the first for the kingdom, as it recorded one back in 2022.

The ministry said the case was a 33-year-old male foreign national residing in the kingdom. It added that their condition was stable and that they were in isolation at Amman’s al-Bashir Hospital.

It said there were no plans to test passengers arriving at Jordanian airports for mpox.

Head of the National Centre for Epidemic Control, Adel al-Balbeisi, moved to reassure the public that measures to contain mpox would differ from Covid-19, according to media reports. 

He said his centre had received queries regarding the disease, lockdowns and remote learning for school children, and reassured the public that the nature of the disease was different to Covid-19.

Jordan previously imposed one of the strictest lockdowns in the region, with steep fines for rules violations and long periods of distance learning.