The coronavirus-triggered economic crisis and food insecurity could kill more people in Jordan and elsewhere than COVID-19 itself, King Abdullah II said in an interview with the German Spiegel magazine, published on Friday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 15th May, 2020) The coronavirus-triggered economic crisis and food insecurity could kill more people in Jordan and elsewhere than COVID-19 itself, King Abdullah II said in an interview with the German Spiegel magazine, published on Friday.
"We began to increase investment in our wheat storage. We have enough for 1.5 years. But what will happen after that? The danger that people will die of hunger everywhere is greater than the threat from the virus itself," King Abdullah II said, adding that the recession would last around two years and its impact largely depended on how fast Jordan would reopen the economy.
Jordan has so far confirmed 586 COVID-19 cases and 10 coronavirus-related fatalities. The authorities have begun to ease the lockdown, with the public sector set to return to work on May 26, and restrictions on the movement of cars have been lifted. At the same time, travel between provinces is still suspended.
The United Nations and several humanitarian organizations have warned that the coronavirus-fuelled crisis could double the number of people suffering from acute hunger, leaving primarily poorer countries most affected.
