Jordan's monarch approves a state of emergency law to combat coronavirus

Jordan's King Abdullah approved a law that gives the government sweeping powers to enforce a state of emergency to help it combat the spread of coronavirus, state media said. The king sealed a royal decree that gave the Prime Minister Omar Razzaz extraordinary powers under a defence law enacted in times of war and disasters to enforce curfews, closing businesses and placing restrictions on freedom of movement of people.

In a letter to Razzaz, the monarch said he approved the law to help combat the virus without infringing on citizens political and civil rights.