WHO delegation arrives in Gaza after first 2 cases test positive for COVID-19

Citizens in Gaza start wearing masks and gloves, after declaring coronavirus cases on 22 March 2020 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

A World Health Organisation delegation arrived in the Gaza Strip on Sunday to assess the situation after the Gazan health ministry announced that two people have tested positive for coronavirus, the Palestinian news agency Shehab reported.

Headed by the director of the WHO office in Palestine, Gerald Rockenschaub, the delegation

entered Gaza through the Erez Crossing.

This visit comes hours after the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced it discovered the first two COVID-19 case in the Gaza Strip in the early hours of Sunday.

Photos: Coronavirus in Gaza

In the West Bank, the Palestinian government previously announced that 55 people have been infected, 17 of whom have recovered.

Due to the ongoing land, air and sea blockade that has been imposed on Gaza by Israel for the last 13 years, Gazans have been suffering from a shortage of medical supplies and drugs. The Strip is already living on a supply of medical goods which only meets half its needs.

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