The land on which people live is facing the ‘most difficult time’ of a pandemic, says PA health minister, amid an increase in COVID cases.
The Palestinian Ministry of Health has recommended a two-week closure amid an increase in coronavirus infections across the West Bank.
Palestinian Authority Health Minister Mai al-Kaila has recommended that Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh implement a complete closure as progressive cases have risen by about 20-30 per cent, while hospital beds in several locations are close to full capacity, according to a statement on the ministry’s website.
“This is the third wave of the coronavirus uprising in Palestine,” al-Kaila told local media on Friday. “And this is the most difficult time we’ve seen since the outbreak began.”
The marked increase in the number of people with disease is linked to the appearance of new rays first reported in the UK and South Africa, the minister said, adding that issues related to the Brazilian strain have not been addressed. find so far.
Coronavirus cases in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have reached nearly 180,000, while more than 2,000 people have died, according to Johns Hopkins University.
The PA began their vaccination campaign in the West Bank on February 2 after 2,000 doses came from Israel, as well as 10,000 doses from Russia.
The Gaza strip followed suit with a limited release of inoculation that began Monday thanks to vaccines given by Moscow and the United Arab Emirates.
Palestinian health worker vaccinated against COVID-19 in Bethlehem in Israel’s West Bank [File: Mussa Qawasma/Reuters]
The shortage of Palestinian vaccines is very different from Israel, where 50 percent of its 9.3 million population has received the first glimpse of a two-dose vaccine. Palestinian citizens of Israel are among those who received the vaccine.
Israel has become a real-world test lab since signing an agreement with Pfizer, promising to share medical data with the drugmaker in exchange for the continued flow of its vaccine .
UN officials and human rights groups have expressed concerns about inequality in vaccine circulation and said Israel, as a property power, has a duty to help Palestinians.
Israel says the PA is responsible for interim peace treaties.
On Thursday, the PA criticized Israel’s promise to send coronavirus vaccines to distant countries while avoiding the five million Palestinians living under its occupation. Honduras was the first to receive a batch of COVID-19 vaccines, after Israeli media reported earlier in the week that the government planned to send vaccines to the Central American country, as well as Guatemala, the Hungary and the Czech Republic.
In a report released Monday, the World Bank urged Israel to consider giving Palestinians extra doses to help accelerate the spread of vaccines in the West Bank and Gaza.
The report said Palestinian COVID-19 vaccine plan lacks $ 30m funding, even after receiving support from a global vaccination scheme for poor economies.