Sixth wave of COVID-19 hits Palestinian Territories: Health Ministry

The Ramallah-based Palestinian Health Ministry announced on Monday that the sixth wave of the coronavirus has hit the region.

In a press statement sent to The New Arab, the ministry said it reported more than 1,000 new cases infected with the deadly coronavirus in the West Bank in a single day.

Mai al-Kaila, the health minister, expressed her concerns about the current health situation, urging the public to immediately receive booster vaccinations and abide by precautionary and preventive measures.

The Palestinian minister warned that its ministry may call on local authorities to impose several strict measures to curb the virus's spread.

From 25 to 27 June, the ministry reported 1,325 new infected cases; 938 in the occupied West Bank, 40 in East Jerusalem, and 12 in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to the statement.

For months, the Palestinian local authorities in Ramallah and Gaza have eased their restrictions on the local people, mainly as the health ministry has not recorded the high number of infected people.

However, the Hamas-run interior ministry in Gaza said that "it is early to impose any strict measures on Gaza, mainly as the number of infected cases is not concerning."

"We are following up on the health condition in Gaza and we will do our best to prevent the spread of the new virus among the people," said Eyad al-Bozzom, spokesperson to the Hamas-run interior ministry, to The New Arab.

Officially, the first wave of the COVID-19 virus struck the West Bank in March 2020 and Gaza in August of the same year.

So far, the health ministry has reported 659,453 infected cases, including 334,567 in the West Bank, 75,210 in East Jerusalem, and 249,676 in Gaza.

In addition, the ministry recorded about 5,660 fatalities, including 3,377 deaths in the West Bank, 304 in East Jerusalem and 1,979 in Gaza.