Due to a large number of coronavirus cases in the Gaza Strip, all the enclave’s hospital beds are currently occupied, today said Fathi Abu Warda, an advisor to Minister of Health Mai Alkaila.
He warned that a surge in the number of positive cases can cause serious deterioration to Gaza’s health sector.
Abu Warda told Voice of Palestine radio that 20 percent of all active coronavirus cases in the Gaza Strip are in serious condition with the majority suffering from pneumonia.
A painful and cruel image 💔
Coronavirus patients in the intensive care unit at the European Gaza Hospital
Your prayers for them to heal, they desperately need to pray 💔😔 pic.twitter.com/oH3s6GjwCr— Asmaa Al-najjar (@NajjarAsmaa) December 7, 2020
With 586 new cases and 832 recoveries confirmed 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.
“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.
#EU Delegation Visits #Gaza to Assess #Health Situation amid #Coronavirus Outbreak https://t.co/YyQxNvtEYo via @PalestineChron #Covid_19 pic.twitter.com/Z9F6Bnbads
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) December 9, 2020
“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)
