The health situation is getting "
out of control
" in the Gaza Strip, medical and political sources in this overcrowded and blockaded Palestinian enclave which is recording daily contamination records these days.
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The Ministry of Health in this territory of two million inhabitants, led by the Islamist movement Hamas, has identified around 890 new cases of patients between Friday and Saturday, a record, for a total of 15,450 cases, including 70 deaths, since the start of the pandemic.
"
The virus is spreading and the situation is getting out of control,
" Dr. Ahmad al-Jadba, an official at the Shifa hospital in Gaza City, warned on Monday.
"
The number of serious cases is not high but there are few medical services available and many people doubt the existence of the coronavirus
", he regretted.
"
The number of intensive care beds is very limited, as are drugs,
" said Mahmoud Al-Khazindar, director of a private hospital in Gaza.
"
If the number of cases increases, a choice will have to be made between the care of the elderly, young people and patients with another disease,
" he warned.
The Ministry of Health "
expects the worst if the epidemiological situation remains the same
", said Bassem Naïm, a senior Hamas official and former Minister of Health, referring to "
a health system at the end of its rope
","
Severe drug shortages
"and"
extreme overcrowding
".
Curfew in the occupied West Bank
In the occupied West Bank, another Palestinian territory, a curfew will be imposed for 14 days in the evenings and on weekends, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh announced Monday, noting a "
worrying spread
" of the virus.
From Friday, only bakeries, pharmacies and supermarkets will remain open, he said.
In total, the Palestinian Ministry of Health in the West Bank has recorded more than 57,740 cases of infected people, including more than 570 deaths in this territory of 2.8 million inhabitants where the Palestinian Authority sits.
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