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Coronavirus infections continue to rise in Gaza

Wednesday, 21 October 2020 11:42 PM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 21 October 2020 11:42 PM ]

Ashraf Shannon

Press TV, Gaza

The Palestinian Ministry of Health recorded 134 new Coronavirus cases in the densely populated Gaza Strip on Wednesday.

Some 5000 infections have been detected so far in the blockaded enclave. The first cases of Coronavirus infections within the general population were discovered in late August. The rapid community spread of the deadly virus comes amid an acute shortage in hospital supplies and medicines.

Hospitals in Gaza currently have less than one hundred ICU beds and ventilators for nearly two million inhabitants. The coronavirus has complicated the already dire humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The Israeli blockade in place since 2007 has caused a sharp decline in the standards of living as well as high levels of unemployment and poverty.

Experts say the Israeli blockade must be fully lifted to help avert a humanitarian disaster Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are desperately combating an unprecedented Coronavirus outbreak within the general population under the watchful eye of the international community.

The Israeli blockade has had a devastating impact on the health and wellbeing of people in Gaza. Experts have warned that a wider outbreak of COVID-19 could be catastrophic.

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