Palestine reinstates pandemic state of emergency

A medical worker collects a nasal swab sample for a coronavirus (Covid-19) test in Ramallah, West Bank on 2 March 2021 [Issam Rimawi/Anadolu Agency]

Palestine Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas has today reinstated the state of emergency in the occupied West Bank for 30 days following an increase in the number of coronavirus infections, Wafa reported.

Health Minister Mai Al-Kaila said that 1,340 new cases have been confirmed in the occupied Palestinian territories today, along with 22 deaths. She also reported that 1,989 people have recovered from the virus.

Some 72 COVID-19 patients are in intensive care, including 21 on ventilators.

Meanwhile, Gaza has reported 1,065 cases and five deaths within its population of two million.

Palestine was hit by COVID-19 in March 2020, forcing the PA to impose a lockdown for nine consecutive months in an effort to stem the spread of the pandemic.

The closures, along with tightening of the occupation, made 2020 the worst year for the Palestinian economy since the PA’s its establishment in 1994, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in a report earlier this week.

READ: Palestinian economy crippled by virus, Israeli occupation in 2020: UN

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