Less than 24 hours after Gaza’s medical facilities ran out of coronavirus testing kits, including swaps, the besieged sea enclave tonight received a new supply of urgently needed kits provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), the Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
WHO provided Gaza with 19,500 swaps, which reached the enclave through the Israeli-run Beit Hanoun crossing. The supply will last for only eight days.
#Gaza MoH announced 10 deaths & 471 new #COVID19 detected cases before
running out of #coronavirus testing kits.— Omar Ghraieb🇵🇸 (@Omar_Gaza) December 7, 2020
Health officials in Gaza have warned today that without the kits, they will not be able to monitor the health situation in the crowded enclave, which has seen a sharp rise in the number of coronavirus cases and deaths in recent weeks.
With 10647 currently active cases in the Gaza Strip, hospitals that were once overwhelmed by gunshot wounds and amputations are now gearing up for a very different challenge in a densely populated, coastal enclave of two million Palestinians, many living in refugee camps.
Worrying #COVID19 update from our team in #Gaza: Ministry of Health have stopped all COVID-19 testing due to zero stock in lab reagents & testing kits. Gaza's healthcare system is dangerously close to being overwhelmed. Pls help us respond to this #crisis https://t.co/5wZJ6iNTuf pic.twitter.com/X9yFGa4aKM
— Medical Aid for Palestinians (@MedicalAidPal) December 6, 2020
“The truth is, no amount of ‘preparedness’ in Gaza – or, frankly, anywhere in occupied Palestine – can stop the spread of the Coronavirus,” Palestinian journalist and editor of The Palestine Chronicle Ramzy Baroud wrote in a recent article.
“What is needed is a fundamental and structural change that would emancipate the Palestinian healthcare system from the horrific impact of the Israeli occupation and the Israeli government’s policies of perpetual siege and politically-imposed ‘quarantines’ – also known as apartheid,” Baroud added.
(Palestine Chronicle, WAFA, Social Media)
