20 mar 2020

Palestine Friday morning confirmed a new COVID-19 case and the recovery of 17 others, reducing the current number of confirmed cases in the occupied territories to 31.
Speaking during a press conference in Ramallah, Health Minister Mai al-Kaileh announced that a Palestinian man who recently returned from Pakistan tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He was identified as a resident of Qarawat Bani Hassan town, northwest of Salfit city.
Al-Kaileh also announced that 17 COVID-19 patients who had been in quarantine at the Angel Hotel in Beit Jala city near Bethlehem, the epicenter of the pandemic, have recovered, and that 19 suspected cases also in quarantine at the hotel tested negative for the virus.
“The recovered patients along with the cases who tested negative for the virus are allowed to go to their homes, where they should remain in home quarantine for 14 days, take their temperatures twice a day, have good nutrition, follow home-based care and undergo another test following the end of the home quarantine period. If their test results are negative, they will be able to lead their ordinary lives,” she said.
Commenting on the state of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, she noted that she has contacted and urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help secure health treatment for the prisoners.
She also stressed the need to test and follow-up on the conditions of Palestinian workers in Israel who return home.
On March 18, Israeli 'Defense’ Minister Naftali Bennett announced that Palestinian workers who happen to work in “sectors essential to the Israeli economy”, such as agriculture, health and construction, would have to stay in Israel with the employers providing lodging.
Speaking during a press conference in Ramallah, Health Minister Mai al-Kaileh announced that a Palestinian man who recently returned from Pakistan tested positive for the novel coronavirus. He was identified as a resident of Qarawat Bani Hassan town, northwest of Salfit city.
Al-Kaileh also announced that 17 COVID-19 patients who had been in quarantine at the Angel Hotel in Beit Jala city near Bethlehem, the epicenter of the pandemic, have recovered, and that 19 suspected cases also in quarantine at the hotel tested negative for the virus.
“The recovered patients along with the cases who tested negative for the virus are allowed to go to their homes, where they should remain in home quarantine for 14 days, take their temperatures twice a day, have good nutrition, follow home-based care and undergo another test following the end of the home quarantine period. If their test results are negative, they will be able to lead their ordinary lives,” she said.
Commenting on the state of Palestinian prisoners in the Israeli jails, she noted that she has contacted and urged the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to help secure health treatment for the prisoners.
She also stressed the need to test and follow-up on the conditions of Palestinian workers in Israel who return home.
On March 18, Israeli 'Defense’ Minister Naftali Bennett announced that Palestinian workers who happen to work in “sectors essential to the Israeli economy”, such as agriculture, health and construction, would have to stay in Israel with the employers providing lodging.
19 mar 2020

Government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem said today that there are three new cases of coronavirus in Palestine, which brings the total to 47.
He said in the daily briefing that two of the new cases are for female students from Ramallah who returned home arriving from France and that they were placed in a quarantine in the city before being in contact with anyone.
This brings total of infected in Ramallah to three.
The third is for a person from Nablus in the north of the West Bank, who apparently was previously suspected of having the disease and was kept in home quarantine, bringing the total in Nablus to two.
Two other cases are in Tulkarm, also in the north of the West Bank, and the rest are in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
He said in the daily briefing that two of the new cases are for female students from Ramallah who returned home arriving from France and that they were placed in a quarantine in the city before being in contact with anyone.
This brings total of infected in Ramallah to three.
The third is for a person from Nablus in the north of the West Bank, who apparently was previously suspected of having the disease and was kept in home quarantine, bringing the total in Nablus to two.
Two other cases are in Tulkarm, also in the north of the West Bank, and the rest are in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.

Human rights groups in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday asked the Israeli occupation authorities to allow the entry of the medical supplies needed to fight the coronavirus pandemic into the besieged territory.
This was voiced in a press conference by Omar al-Qarout, the executive director of Hemaya Center for Human Rights, on behalf of human rights groups in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Qarout called on the Israeli authorities to shoulder their legal responsibilities toward the besieged Gaza Strip and provide it with medical supplies.
Al-Qarout called on the international community to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift restrictions on the entry of medical supplies, equipment and drugs needed to deal with coronavirus into the Gaza Strip.
He also asked the World Health Organization to open a regional office in the Palestinian territories to monitor the spread of coronavirus.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Gaza Strip is coronavirus-free while 44 Palestinians have been infected in the Occupied West Bank.
The Gaza Strip Palestinians have been living under crippling blockade for about 14 years. All border crossings connecting them with the outside world through Egypt or the Palestinian territories occupied since 1948 are closed most of the time.
This was voiced in a press conference by Omar al-Qarout, the executive director of Hemaya Center for Human Rights, on behalf of human rights groups in the Gaza Strip.
Al-Qarout called on the Israeli authorities to shoulder their legal responsibilities toward the besieged Gaza Strip and provide it with medical supplies.
Al-Qarout called on the international community to pressure the Israeli authorities to lift restrictions on the entry of medical supplies, equipment and drugs needed to deal with coronavirus into the Gaza Strip.
He also asked the World Health Organization to open a regional office in the Palestinian territories to monitor the spread of coronavirus.
According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the Gaza Strip is coronavirus-free while 44 Palestinians have been infected in the Occupied West Bank.
The Gaza Strip Palestinians have been living under crippling blockade for about 14 years. All border crossings connecting them with the outside world through Egypt or the Palestinian territories occupied since 1948 are closed most of the time.
18 mar 2020

Palestine Tuesday late night confirmed three new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the occupied territories to 44.
Government spokesman Ibrahim Melhim announced that two women and a man from Beit Sahour city tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The three cases, already in isolation under home quarantine, contracted the virus after one of them didn't fully abide to the quarantine.
Melhim added that the samples of 402 new suspected cases were tested, and the results were negative.
He urged Palestinian residents of Bethlehem district to take the home quarantine more seriously and establish a culture of extreme hygiene.
He pointed out that the government was considering taking more precautionary measures to combat the outbreak pandemic in Bethlehem district, including asking security services to impose stricter sanctions on suspected cases who fail to abide by quarantine.
Of the 44 confirmed cases, 40 cases are from Bethlehem district, two cases from Tulkarem district, one from Ramallah and another from Nablus district.
Government spokesman Ibrahim Melhim announced that two women and a man from Beit Sahour city tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The three cases, already in isolation under home quarantine, contracted the virus after one of them didn't fully abide to the quarantine.
Melhim added that the samples of 402 new suspected cases were tested, and the results were negative.
He urged Palestinian residents of Bethlehem district to take the home quarantine more seriously and establish a culture of extreme hygiene.
He pointed out that the government was considering taking more precautionary measures to combat the outbreak pandemic in Bethlehem district, including asking security services to impose stricter sanctions on suspected cases who fail to abide by quarantine.
Of the 44 confirmed cases, 40 cases are from Bethlehem district, two cases from Tulkarem district, one from Ramallah and another from Nablus district.
17 mar 2020
16 mar 2020

After a second coronavirus case was confirmed in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the district’s governor Issam Abu Bakr quickly issued an order locking down the city and barring entry or exit from the city as a precautionary step against the spread of the disease.
Governors have been given the authority in the current state of emergency declared 10 days ago to take immediate measures to isolate cities or towns if there is concern of possibility of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
A medical student returning from Poland has tested positive for the virus today making him the second case of coronavirus in Tulkarm.
Bethlehem, in the south of the West Bank where 37 of the current 39 corona cases in Palestine are located, has been locked down since day one of the discovery of the disease 10 days ago.
New coronavirus case confirmed in Palestine
A new coronavirus case was confirmed in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the second in the city, and raising the number in Palestine to 39, today said Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
The new case is of a Palestinian, said to a be a student, who recently returned from Poland, and who seem to have shown signs of the virus.
The remaining 37 cases are all located in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Shtayyeh said at the start of the cabinet meeting in Ramallah that Kuwait has contributed $5.5 million to help the Palestinians overcome coronavirus.
Governors have been given the authority in the current state of emergency declared 10 days ago to take immediate measures to isolate cities or towns if there is concern of possibility of the spread of the coronavirus pandemic.
A medical student returning from Poland has tested positive for the virus today making him the second case of coronavirus in Tulkarm.
Bethlehem, in the south of the West Bank where 37 of the current 39 corona cases in Palestine are located, has been locked down since day one of the discovery of the disease 10 days ago.
New coronavirus case confirmed in Palestine
A new coronavirus case was confirmed in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the second in the city, and raising the number in Palestine to 39, today said Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh.
The new case is of a Palestinian, said to a be a student, who recently returned from Poland, and who seem to have shown signs of the virus.
The remaining 37 cases are all located in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem.
Shtayyeh said at the start of the cabinet meeting in Ramallah that Kuwait has contributed $5.5 million to help the Palestinians overcome coronavirus.
15 mar 2020

Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said today that 15 out of the 38 patients of COVID-19 in Palestine have started to show signs of recovery.
Speaking at a press conference outside the Prime Minister's Office in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said these signs of recovery in the 15 patients do not necessarily mean a full recovery, but rather mean that things are "in the right path".
He said six of the other cases re-tested positive for the disease, with two cases described as moderate and one case described as critical, that is a German woman.
He said the 21 patients who were first tested positive for the virus will undergo two other health checks to make sure they have fully recovered.
"This is very reassuring, but nothing will change in the measures taken," the Prime Minister said. He expressed thanks to the medical staff and security services for the strenuous efforts they have made since the outbreak of the disease to restrict its spread.
Two Palestinians infected with COVID-19 in Greece
Two Palestinians in Greece have tested positive for novel COVID-19 (coronavirus), said Palestine's ambassador to Greece, Marwan Tubasi in a press release.
Tubasi called upon the Palestinian community in Greece to abide by the precautions and instructions issued by the Greek authorities and the Ministry of Health in the country to ensure their safety.
He also called on the community to reach out to the embassy in the event of an emergency or having any of the symptoms of the novel virus.
Speaking at a press conference outside the Prime Minister's Office in Ramallah, Shtayyeh said these signs of recovery in the 15 patients do not necessarily mean a full recovery, but rather mean that things are "in the right path".
He said six of the other cases re-tested positive for the disease, with two cases described as moderate and one case described as critical, that is a German woman.
He said the 21 patients who were first tested positive for the virus will undergo two other health checks to make sure they have fully recovered.
"This is very reassuring, but nothing will change in the measures taken," the Prime Minister said. He expressed thanks to the medical staff and security services for the strenuous efforts they have made since the outbreak of the disease to restrict its spread.
Two Palestinians infected with COVID-19 in Greece
Two Palestinians in Greece have tested positive for novel COVID-19 (coronavirus), said Palestine's ambassador to Greece, Marwan Tubasi in a press release.
Tubasi called upon the Palestinian community in Greece to abide by the precautions and instructions issued by the Greek authorities and the Ministry of Health in the country to ensure their safety.
He also called on the community to reach out to the embassy in the event of an emergency or having any of the symptoms of the novel virus.
14 mar 2020

Three new cases of coronavirus pandemic were detected in Palestine, bringing the total so far to 30, today said Palestinian government spokesman Ibrahim Milhem.
He said in the daily brief on the Covid19 pandemic that the three new cases were of individuals who had been in contact with already infected people in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, the epicenter of the disease in Palestine.
Except for one case in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the rest are located in Bethlehem.
Milhem said 6429 people suspected of having the disease are currently in home quarantine, including 2676 in the Gaza Strip.
He said in the daily brief on the Covid19 pandemic that the three new cases were of individuals who had been in contact with already infected people in the southern West Bank city of Bethlehem, the epicenter of the disease in Palestine.
Except for one case in the northern West Bank city of Tulkarm, the rest are located in Bethlehem.
Milhem said 6429 people suspected of having the disease are currently in home quarantine, including 2676 in the Gaza Strip.