Gaza caught between full lockdown or collapse of health sector amid COVID-19 surge
A health catastrophe looms on the horizon of the Gaza Strip amid the already fragile health-care sector, while the government hesitates to impose a full lockdown due to the deteriorating economic situation.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — The deteriorating health-care system in the Gaza Strip warns of a health disaster due to the increasing number of coronavirus cases, as 32% of daily tests turn out positive. Since March, 21,461 cases have been registered in Gaza, with 9,627 active cases as of Dec. 2, and about 111 deaths.
Rami al-Abadla, director of the Infection Control Department at the General Hospital Administration of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “The COVID-19 infection rate in the Gaza Strip foreshadows a larger spread of the virus. In addition, many cases are still unregistered because some infected people do not inform the ministry of the people they came in contact with.”
