Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 34

occupied Palestinian territory, issued 2 July 2020 
Information for period: 5 March - 2 July 2020 

Highlights

• The number of people testing positive for COVID-19 continues to surge in the West Bank and confirmed cases have more than quadrupled between 15 June and 2 July 

• The Palestinian Authority has announced the entire West Bank will be subject to movement restrictions from 3 July, in line with lockdowns and public health measures in Hebron and Nablus governorates  

• WHO and partners in close consultation with the Ministry of Health are targeting the population of the most affected governorates with health advice and messages to reinforce and encourage adherence to personal protective measures  

WHO preparedness, readiness and response

WHO is continuing to work with partners to support Ministry of Health’s (MoH) efforts to respond to the COVID-19 situation in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt).

Coordination, planning and monitoring

• The suspension of bilateral agreements and coordination in response to Israel’s threatened annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank continues to impact access to essential services outside for referral patients as well as the import and customs clearance of essential medical equipment and supply shipments. 

Surveillance

• The WHO risk assessment remains very high for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) 

• The total number of cases in oPt is 3,315 including 3,243 cases in the West Bank and 72 in the Gaza Strip, no new cases reported for Gaza in the same period  

• There continues to be a significant increase in the number of people who test positive for SARS-CoV-2, since cases started to dramatically by mid-June. The number of confirmed cases has more than quadrupled from 15 June to 2 July 

• Over the past week (25 June - 2 July as of 14:00) there have been 1,747 new cases in the West Bank and five fatalities.  On 1 July, oPt experienced the largest increase in a single day, with 330 confirmed cases recorded in the West Bank 

• Most cases are recorded from Hebron, East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Jerusalem Governorate, Nablus and Ramallah. Other governorates (Salfit, Qalqiliya, Tubas, Tulkarm, Jenin) continue to record low case numbers

• A total of 11 health workers are among those confirmed cases 

• Few patients are in a critical condition, with three patients requiring ventilator treatment (as of 2 July)

• Hebron and Nablus governorates are currently in lockdown for five days, with the whole West Bank to be under movement restrictions from Friday morning for the same period (until 8 July), as directed by the PA on 1 July. All businesses will be closed, except for pharmacies, grocery stores and bakeries 

• Staff shortages are impacting contact tracing and follow up of mild cases in home isolation 

• Capacity supply gaps are affecting infection protection control and case management, including local shortages of personal protective equipment for frontline health workers

• Public health protection measures like physical distancing and hygiene measures need to be reinforced 

• While home isolation is initiated for mild and moderate cases, this is not always feasible, especially in over-crowded living conditions 

• To-date, the Ministry of Health (MoH) reported a total of 634 cases have recovered: 577 in the West Bank (including 174 in East Jerusalem) and 57 in Gaza. Eleven people have died, with an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.33%   

• About half (48.8%) of all confirmed cases are male (1,350 cases) and about 84% of all cases (1,726 cases) are below the age of 50 years in the oPt, excluding East Jerusalem. 

Laboratory diagnostics ​

• A total of 105,919 laboratory samples have been tested for COVID-19 according to the MoH, with 12,738 samples tested in the Gaza Strip. 

 Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Isolation and Case Management, Operations Support and Logistics ​

• 19,255 Palestinians are in quarantine (home or facility-based) to prevent further spread of the disease 

• In Gaza, 282 people are in one of the six operational quarantine facilities which include health facilities, hotels or other designated buildings 

East Jerusalem​

• As of July 2 (10:00 am), the Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Health reported 337 COVID-19 cases in East Jerusalem. Three deaths have been reported (CFR- 0.89%) and 174 have recovered in the same period  

More local information

Situation in Eastern Mediterranean Region and Globally 

Latest WHO advice and health information:

• New: Rapid hospital readiness checklist: Interim Guidance 

• NEW: Updated scientific brief on Smoking and COVID-19   

• NEW: Updated guidance on IPC during Health Care  

• New: Biomedical Equipment Inventory Tool and Interim Guidance  

• NEW: Hospital Readiness Checklist and Interim Guidance  

• Updated guidance: Critical Preparedness, Readiness and Response Actions for COVID-19 in the Four Transmission Scenarios

Further information:

Dr. Gerald Rockenschaub, WHO oPt Head of Office, rockenschaubg@who.int
Dr. Ayadil Saparbekov, WHO oPt Health Emergencies Team Lead, asaparbekov@who.int
Alice Plate, WHO oPt Communication Specialist, platea@who.int