The director of Priority Care at the Gaza Health Ministry, Majdi Dhaheer, said on Sunday that the situation there is not promising, as for the first time since the outbreak of the pandemic there were more new cases of Corona in Gaza than in Israel: 307, compared with 285 respectively.
The Health Ministry’s spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra confirmed in a Sunday press conference at the ministry headquarters that a return to gradual lockdown is possible if the trend of infections continues to rise. He noted that the past few days witnessed a sharp increase in the number of Coronavirus infections in the Strip, with 75 patients’ condition rated as between severe and critical.
Dhaheer confirmed the Gaza Strip is entering a second stage of the coronavirus and called for control of the epidemic by adhering to safety and prevention measures. He called on everyone to remedy the situation before it was too late, adding: “We arrived a few days ago at a stage that harbors grave danger, and should it continue, we will come up with recommendations to return to restrictive measures successively, depending on the stage.”
Dhaheer stressed that soon there will not be enough vaccines for a large part of society, so the alternative option is to follow safety procedures. “We are faced with two options, either sticking or slipping off the cliff,” he said.
Over at the PA, the governor of Tulkarm, Issam Abu Bakr, and the municipality of Balaa, on Sunday announced the lockdown of the town of Balaa for a period of three days, starting Monday morning, with the exception of bakeries, pharmacies, electricity charging places in town, and high schools.
Governor Abu Bakr said in a statement that the lockdown is imposed in light of the increase in the number of coronavirus infections in the town and its environs, preserve the health and safety of the citizens
Meanwhile, PA Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh announced on Sunday the launch of a national vaccination campaign against Corona. Speaking at the launch of the campaign from the Palestine Medical Complex in Ramallah, the PM said, “We will target the elderly and the sick after we targeted the medical staff and continue strengthening the immunity of doctors in public and private hospitals. The wheel has turned and we are on the right path to vaccinating everyone who needs and deserves it.”
He added: “We received the first package of the vaccine and instructed the Health Ministry to act with full transparency and clarity, and to hold accountable any person who exceeds the priorities that the Minister of Health talked about regarding receiving the vaccine, which will be according to the registration platforms.”
Shtayyeh praised the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX), the global initiative aimed at equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines led by UNICEF, Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, the World Health Organization, the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations, and others. The organization and the donor countries, including the United States, European Union, Britain, Japan, Italy, Norway, France, Canada, Germany, and UNICEF, in addition to the efforts made by the World Bank and the World Health Organization for what they offer.
He continued, “Vaccination is important because it reduces the severity of the infection if it occurs, and prevents it at other times, and unfortunately there is a politicization of vaccine delivery and competition between supply and demand and between the able and the incapable.”
Shtayyeh did not mention, never mind praise, Israel for vaccinating more than 105,000 PA residents who come to work every day in the Jewish State (Israel Vaccinates over 105,000 Palestinian Authority Citizens in 2 Weeks).