Amman — Many sectors are set to reopen today after over a year of closures and
restrictions. However, the requirement that all employees be vaccinated before a business can reopen complicates things, as many Jordanians are yet to receive their jab.
اضافة اعلان
Haitham Baroudi, who owns a gym, told
Jordan News that “the protocol issued by the government relating to the opening of gyms is unclear.”
“Most of the workers and the members are younger than 30 years old, which means that they have not been
vaccinated yet, and some are even unwilling to get vaccinated,” Baroudi explained.
“Why it is not a condition to be vaccinated when going to malls or cafes?” he asked. “Why is it only stipulated for gym members to be vaccinated?”
The vaccination requirement also poses an obstacle to potential gym goers. Farah Mohammad, a 25-year-old woman, told
Jordan News that “I was willing to subscribe to a gym. I gained weight over the past months and I have to lose it, yet unfortunately I will not able to do so as the management of the gym has informed me that I need to be vaccinated or I will not be able to subscribe.”
“Honestly, I did not want to take the vaccine, so I had not registered for it,” Mohammad added. “I waited for my friends to take the vaccine to make sure it does not have any side effects, and when they took it I decided to register and that was couple of days ago.”
“I am waiting for my turn to get vaccinated. If this takes too long it means I will not be able to subscribe to the gym,” she said.
A member of the
Amman Chamber of Commerce told
Jordan News that “even cafe employees and workers are required to be vaccinated” — a requirement that he criticized.
“This is unacceptable and illogical,” the member said. “Employees and workers are allowed to go to work only after 21 days of being vaccinated. This means that if they have not taken it, or have taken it just a couple of days ago they are not allowed to go back to work.”
“That was a short notice from the government that the sectors are getting back to work on the first of June,” he said. He suggested that the government should have informed the sectors “at least a month ago so workers can have the chance to get vaccinated.”
Omar Al-Awwad, president of the Jordanian Union of Restaurants and Confectionary Proprietors, told Jordan News that “restaurants are still not allowed to serve argileh.”
“Even cafes are allowed to serve argileh outdoors by applying social distancing (measures),” he added.
Abdel Hakim Al-Hindi, president of the Jordan Hotels Association told Jordan News that “hotels are getting back to work under certain conditions, but that is a great step.”
Hindi added that “people can come and enjoy using the swimming pools — they have to be sure and confident that we are following high safety measures and standards.”
“Over the next days, all workers and employees who work in the hotel sectors will be vaccinated, we can guarantee our visitors that they are safe,” he said. “We highly appreciate this step from the government as it helps us in getting back to work safely.”
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