Gaza closes roads to reinforce lockdown

Roads in Gaza are closed to reinforce the lockdown in order to stop the spread of coronavirus

Roads are closed to reinforce lockdown in Gaza, 28 August 2020 [Mohammed Asad/Middle East Monitor]

Today marks the fourth day since Gaza was placed in lockdown with authorities blocking roads to ensure adherence to the new policies and stop the spread of coronavirus.

The spokesman for the Ministry of Interior and National Security, Iyad Al-Bazam, said in a press statement yesterday: “The decision to impose a lockdown is compulsory and we did not want to resort to it, and it costs us a lot of energy and expenses, and it carries a great burden, but it is important and necessary to reduce the spread of the virus.”

The Gaza Municipality has started to close streets and divide the cities into squares, leaving police officers in main roads at the intersections to impose the curfew.

Gaza was placed in lockdown on Tuesday after the first cases of COVID-19 in the general population were discovered.

The Ministry of Interior mobilised 19,000 members of the police and various security services, and all land and sea borders to Gaza were closed.

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