WHO: Coronavirus will inevitably reach Gaza

Hamas security forces wearing personal protective equipment as a precaution against the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, check the papers of an intensive care ambulance at the Rafah border crossing with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip on 13 April, 2020 [SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images]

The representative of the World Health Organisation (WHO) in Gaza, Dr Abdul Naser Soboh, said on Wednesday that the coronavirus Covid-19 is heading inevitably to Gaza as it has elsewhere, Al-Rai News Agency has reported.

Soboh expressed his concerns in an interview about the underestimation of the protective measures, especially in supermarkets and malls. He said that he expects this downplaying of the threat that the virus poses to lead to its spread in the enclave.

The WHO official called for the Palestinians to maintain safety measures, including social distancing, quarantine and other guidance issued by the Ministry of Health. This should be done, he explained, for at least another two months.

“We hope that we are buying time in the battle against the coronavirus,” Soboh added, “and that a vaccine is developed before it is too late.”

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