CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan among first countries listed in Jordan's border reopening

Taipei, July 22 (CNA) Taiwan is among the first 22 countries listed by the Kingdom of Jordan in its announcement of the reopening of its borders in August, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Wednesday.

Starting in August, foreign travelers who have spent 14 days or more in Taiwan and test negative for the COVID-19 coronavirus 72 hours prior to arrival in Jordan will be exempt from quarantine, once they test negative again upon arrival, MOFA spokesperson Joanne Ou (歐江安) said.

The other 21 countries to which that regulation will apply are Malaysia, China, Thailand, Austria, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, Cyprus, Canada, Georgia, Denmark, Latvia, Ireland, Iceland, Greenland, Norway, New Zealand, Malta, Lithuania, Estonia and Monaco, according to Ou.

She said visitors to Jordan are reminded to follow the country's disease prevention measures, which include wearing a face mask and avoiding mass gatherings.

Jordan, which closed its borders on March 17 to foreign visitors because of COVID-19, has reported a total of 1,223 cases and 11 deaths since the start of the pandemic, according to Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

Taiwan has recorded 455 infections, with seven deaths, while the number of cases worldwide has reached 14.9 million, including 616,029 deaths, according to the CDC.

(By Chen Yun-yu and Kay Liu) enditem/pc