On Wednesday, a government meeting was held at the Ministry of the Interior, in the presence of the Minister of Interior, Industry, Trade and Supply, the Governor of the Capital, and representatives of several commercial sectors, to discuss the merchants’ observations on the implementation of Defense Order 35.

The head of the Amman Chamber of Commerce, the head of the Food Traders Syndicate, Khalil Al-Hajj Tawfiq, described in a statement to “The Kingdom” on Thursday the meeting with the government as “positive,” noting that he touched on the notes and complaints of merchants related to the implementation of Defense Order 35.

Regarding what was agreed upon, Haj Tawfiq confirmed that the commercial sector had received promises to implement Defense Order 35 with “flexibility” that takes into account the interests of the merchant and the citizen.

Haj Tawfiq stressed the commitment of commercial establishments to public safety measures related to the prevention of Corona, calling on auditors of commercial establishments to abide by Defense Order 35 in terms of receiving the vaccine in addition to wearing a mask and achieving physical distancing in order to preserve public safety in light of the spread of the Corona epidemic.

“During the meeting, a promise was made to review what is related to the issue of closing facilities and to consider the issue of separation when the auditors are from one family (…) the issue of entering the facilities will be reviewed in case the person received one dose recently and did not miss the second dose,” according to Haj Tawfiq, who preferred not to discuss details. Additional meeting.

Haj Tawfiq, in a previous statement, considered closing commercial facilities for not implementing Defense Order 35, a “death penalty” for the facility, calling for “punishing those who do not receive the vaccine” against the Corona virus.

More than 300,000 people have received the second dose of the coronavirus vaccine, since the Defense Order (35) was issued in the Official Gazette on November 25, 2021, which requires receiving two doses of the coronavirus vaccine to enter facilities.

Haj Tawfiq pointed out that the meeting came at the invitation of the Amman Chamber of Commerce to discuss the implementation of Defense Order 35 and was attended by the ministers, the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Supply, the Governor of the Capital, a number of members of the Amman Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, and heads of unions and employer associations.

Based on the new defense order, a public sector employee or a worker in private sector establishments is not allowed to join work unless he receives two doses of the Corona vaccine, and the days in which he is not allowed to work or work are deducted from his annual leave balance, and if his annual leave balance is exhausted, he is considered He is on leave without pay and bonuses, and he is not entitled to any salary, bonus or bonus during this period.

No person over 18 years of age is allowed to review any of the ministries, government departments, official institutions, public institutions, or enter any of the private sector facilities unless he has received two doses of the vaccine, except for those who visit hospitals and health centers in emergency cases.

A private sector facility that allows an employee in the facility to join work without receiving a vaccination shall be closed for a week if the violation is for the first time, and for two weeks in the event of a repeat violation, and the closed facility is reopened if the violation is corrected.

The penalty for a private sector facility that allows entry to any person over the age of 18 who has not received the vaccine, except for hospitals and health centers in emergency cases, is as follows:

A- Malls, shopping centers, banking sector facilities, telecommunications companies and their exhibitions, restaurants, bakeries, cafes, hotels, offices of electricity distribution companies, water companies, night clubs, bars, discotheques, Turkish and oriental baths, sports clubs, fitness centers and swimming pools shall be punished with a fine of (1000) dinars for the first violation and (3000). Dinars for the second violation and 5,000 dinars for the third violation, and for one week to be closed if the violation is repeated after that.

B- Other establishments not mentioned in item (A) of this paragraph shall be penalized with a fine of (100) dinars for the first violation, (200) dinars for the second violation, and (300) dinars for the third violation, and closed for a week in the event of a repeat violation after that.

The provisions of this defense order related to receiving two doses of the vaccine do not apply to persons who did not receive these two doses for medical reasons by a decision of the Minister of Health or his authorized representative, but these persons are obligated to bring a negative PCR examination valid for a period of 72 hours and to show it upon entering any of the Public sector establishments or private sector establishments referred to in this defense order.