Jordan's King Abdullah vows to help ally US fight coronavirus by shipping medical supplies
Jordan's King Abdullah vows to help ally US fight coronavirus by shipping medical supplies
The Jordanian monarch has said countries - whether they be traditional enemies or allies - must come together to fight the pandemic.
2 min read
Jordan has reported 412 confirmed coronavirus cases, including seven deaths [Getty]
Jordan's King Abdullah II said that the kingdom will send medical equipment and doctors to the US in the coming weeks, to help Washington battle the novel coronavirus.
In an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" programme aired on Sunday, the Jordanian monarch called for solidarity and sharing between nations regardless of their previous political differences.
"Do we understand that this is a new world that we're living in?" the king asked. "[Covid-19 is] an invisible enemy... Unless we work together, we will not be able to overcome this.
"So our enemies of yesterday or those that were not friendly countries yesterday, whether we like it or not, are our partners today," he said.
King Abdullah added that the quick world leaders came to terms with the necessity for cooperation, the better.
Jordan plans to export medical equipment, including face masks, and send doctors to countries facing the Covid-19 pandemic within the next few weeks, the king told CBS.
Among those countries is the US, he added, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
Jordan received medical aid from Jack Ma, the CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant AliBaba.
Ma gave the kingdom 100,000 coronavirus testing kits that "almost tripled our capacity overnight", the king said.
Read more: Learning under lockdown: How Jordan's students are adapting to the coronavirus pandemic
The kingdom now looks to return the favour by sending doctors and equipment elsewhere.
"Many individuals and countries have helped us as we have in turn been helping them," he said.
The monarch went on to describe the Covid-19 pandemic as "Mother Nature giving us a big kick up the backside". "We're all in the same boat," he said.
Jordan has reported 412 confirmed coronavirus cases, including seven deaths.
Widespread testing and a nationwide lockdown early in the crisis has prevented the kingdom from being overwhelmed by the Covid-19 illness, King Abdullah II said.
"The lockdown... has helped Jordan sort of flatten the curve quite quickly. The cases that we've had over the past week are under 10 people every day," he added.
Jordan's curfew - one of the strictest in the world - was implemented on 21 March when the kingdom had registered just under 100 cases of the virus and no fatalities.
The government has also done "excessive" random and targeted testing, the king explained.
Authorities last week eased curfew restrictions in some areas of the country where no virus cases have been recorded.
Initial curfew measures saw residents of the kingdom indefinitely confined to their homes with no exceptions. These conditions were later relaxed to allow people to shop on foot.
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In an interview with CBS News' "Face the Nation" programme aired on Sunday, the Jordanian monarch called for solidarity and sharing between nations regardless of their previous political differences.
"Do we understand that this is a new world that we're living in?" the king asked. "[Covid-19 is] an invisible enemy... Unless we work together, we will not be able to overcome this.
"So our enemies of yesterday or those that were not friendly countries yesterday, whether we like it or not, are our partners today," he said.
King Abdullah added that the quick world leaders came to terms with the necessity for cooperation, the better.
Jordan plans to export medical equipment, including face masks, and send doctors to countries facing the Covid-19 pandemic within the next few weeks, the king told CBS.
Among those countries is the US, he added, one of the countries hardest hit by the pandemic.
Jordan received medical aid from Jack Ma, the CEO of Chinese e-commerce giant AliBaba.
Ma gave the kingdom 100,000 coronavirus testing kits that "almost tripled our capacity overnight", the king said.
Read more: Learning under lockdown: How Jordan's students are adapting to the coronavirus pandemic
The kingdom now looks to return the favour by sending doctors and equipment elsewhere.
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"Many individuals and countries have helped us as we have in turn been helping them," he said.
The monarch went on to describe the Covid-19 pandemic as "Mother Nature giving us a big kick up the backside". "We're all in the same boat," he said.
Jordan has reported 412 confirmed coronavirus cases, including seven deaths.
Widespread testing and a nationwide lockdown early in the crisis has prevented the kingdom from being overwhelmed by the Covid-19 illness, King Abdullah II said.
"The lockdown... has helped Jordan sort of flatten the curve quite quickly. The cases that we've had over the past week are under 10 people every day," he added.
Jordan's curfew - one of the strictest in the world - was implemented on 21 March when the kingdom had registered just under 100 cases of the virus and no fatalities.
The government has also done "excessive" random and targeted testing, the king explained.
Authorities last week eased curfew restrictions in some areas of the country where no virus cases have been recorded.
Initial curfew measures saw residents of the kingdom indefinitely confined to their homes with no exceptions. These conditions were later relaxed to allow people to shop on foot.
Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to stay connected
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