A Jordanian journalist arrested last week over an article alleging officials had been secretly vaccinated against the novel coronavirus was freed on bail on Tuesday, a judiciary source said.

-The State Security Court responded favourably to a request for bail for the journalist Jamal Haddad, editor of the news website Al-Wakaai- the source told AFP on condition of anonymity.

The country's journalists' union had submitted a request for his release on Sunday, the source added.

Prosecutors ordered Haddad's arrest on Thursday over a report that government officials may have been vaccinated against Covid-19 in secret, according to the same source.

The journalist was accused of "endangering the security of the country, provoking sedition and disturbing public order".

Al-Wakaai published an article on December 22 titled, "What about the people? Did the Pfizer (vaccine) arrive in secret, and have senior officials in the Jordanian government been vaccinated?"

Jordan has recorded 291,393 cases of Covid-19 infection and 3,801 deaths.

The government announced in mid-December it had approved emergency use of the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and said Monday doses would arrive in the kingdom at the end of January or the start of February.