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No testing kits for Coronavirus in the blockaded Gaza Strip

Thursday, 09 April 2020 9:05 PM [ Last Update: Thursday, 09 April 2020 10:17 PM ]

A Palestinian man wearing a mask prays outside a closed mosque in Gaza City after it was closed as a measure to contain the spread of the COVID-19 epidemic, March 27, 2020.

Ashraf Shannon
Press TV, Gaza

The central laboratory in the Gaza Strip has halted testing after running out of coronavirus detection kits. The impoverished enclave’s fragile health system suffers from acute shortages in medicines and hospital supplies due to the inhumane Israeli blockade.

The Israeli blockade continues to take its toll on the impoverished Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday the Health Ministry announced that it had run out of kits to test for the highly contagious coronavirus.

All those infected with the new coronavirus in Gaza have been quarantined and have not mixed with the broader population.

People here fear that shortages of critical equipment and medical supplies could set off a rapid spread of the deadly disease. Authorities in Gaza have closed schools, mosques and wedding halls to halt the contagion's spread, but have not moved to impose a lockdown on the overpopulated territory.

The health system in Gaza has been battered by multiple Israeli wars and a punishing blockade since 2007.

The Israeli regime continues its inhumane policies against the Gaza Strip amid the Covid-19 pandemic. Now, with the absence of testing kits, health officials warn of disaster if the deadly disease spreads in the blockaded territory.

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