In Gaza, coronavirus begins to spread and causes concern
Text by: RFI Follow
2 min
Until now, the coronavirus pandemic had relatively spared the Gaza Strip. The only cases detected were people arriving from outside this blockaded territory and who were in quarantine centers set up by the authorities. But Monday, August 24, the authorities identified the first four cases among the population. And since then, in a densely populated territory with a fragile health system, the numbers have increased. One person has succumbed to Covid-19.
Publicity
Read moreWith our correspondent in Jerusalem, Guilhem Delteil
The first cases detected among the population, Monday, August 24, were four people from the same family in the Al Maghazi refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip . As soon as these cases were identified, the local authorities ordered a first general containment throughout this Palestinian territory. The number of tests performed has also increased. And Wednesday, August 26, at midday, ten new cases had been identified.
►Also read : In Gaza, the prospect of the spread of the coronavirus worries
The authorities are very worried
In an area as densely populated as the Gaza Strip, the spread can go quickly. Since the start of the pandemic, the authorities have imperatively sought to avoid it by taking strict measures. Anyone entering the enclave was subject to a mandatory three-week quarantine, in centers monitored by the police.
Now, the virus is present among the population and in several places of the territory. There is not just one home. For the authorities, this is the most complicated scenario to manage. The first general confinement of 48 hours was relatively respected by the population. But, in a territory where more than half of the inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, many Gazans have to work every day to have enough to eat.
Newsletter Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribeFollow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
google-play-badge_FR- Gaza
- Palestinian territories
- Health and medicine
- Coronavirus
On the same subject
Interview
Treatment of Covid-19 with plasma: "WHO is right to be careful"
"Sputnik V" vaccine: WHO and international scientists call for caution
Coronavirus in Israel and the Palestinian Territories: containment is stepped up step by step