NO: 112/ 2020
Date: 9 Dec 2020
During a meeting organized by (ICSPR)
Participants stress the need to adhere to the partial closure in the Gaza Strip to confront Corona
Occupied Palestine / Gaza: The participants stressed the need to adhere to the preventive measures and partial closure imposed by government agencies in the Gaza Strip to limit the spread of the Corona virus, which is spreading globally.
During the meeting organized by the International Commission to Support Palestinians’ Rights (ICSPR) today, Wednesday, at its headquarters in Gaza City under the title “The reality of health conditions in the Gaza Strip”, the participants called for the need to provide relief to the health sector in Gaza and provide it with medical equipment and supplies to deal with Corona, and to neutralize health services from any disputes.
The meeting started with Salah Abdel-Atti, the chairman of ICSPR, welcoming the guests, stressing that the Gaza Strip is suffering from catastrophic conditions that make its reality and future fraught with challenges and dangers, as a result of the crimes, aggression and siege by the Israeli occupation, in addition to the repercussions of the ongoing division and collective punishments imposed by the Palestinian Authority.
He pointed out that the health conditions in the Gaza Strip are catastrophic, so ICSPR was keen to organize this meeting to shed light on the health situation in the Gaza Strip, especially in light of the spread of the Coronavirus.
Dr. Majdi Dahir, Director of Preventive Medicine at the Ministry of Health in Gaza said: “Taking any measures in the Gaza Strip aims to limit the spread of the Corona epidemic, stressing that more than 70 residential neighborhoods within the Strip are now classified as red areas”
He stressed that all the measures imposed by government agencies in the Gaza Strip aim to limit the spread of the epidemic in Gaza, reduce the number of hospital admissions and occupy its beds, explaining that the Ministry of Health plan is moving towards taking escalatory and gradual measures to prevent access to our bed occupancy, noting that the occupancy rate has reached 75%.
Regarding the efforts of the Ministry of Health to provide the “Pfizer” vaccine, he confirmed that there is a cooperation between the World Health Organization and UNICEF, whereby 20% of the citizens’ needs in the Gaza Strip from the vaccine will be provided free of charge, if it is put on the market, as the Ramallah government pledged to provide 50% for our people at home and abroad free of charge if it is available in the market. “
On her part, the Director of the World Health Organization Office in Gaza, said that the Ministry of Health’s procedures in the Gaza Strip have succeeded in reducing the number of deaths resulting from the outbreak of the Corona epidemic, compared to the rates in the West Bank and even in other countries of the world.
She explained that the World Health Organization is working in clear and continuous cooperation with the Ministry of Health in Gaza to increase the capacity of the central laboratory to conduct the tests, and to provide the necessary materials for examination.
She stated that the organization is working to bring more respirators and the oxygen generators necessary for the European hospital’s oxygen generation plant, and we seek to provide sufficient capabilities of clothing to protect medical staff from infection with this epidemic.
According to the World Health Organization, the number of people with corona in the Palestinian territories has reached about 26,000 cases, at a time when the number of cases entering the hospital in need of ventilators has increased.
She also confirmed that the World Health Organization’s efforts are continuing to provide a special vaccine against this disease, and there are vigorous measures to provide the vaccine according to global conditions.
With regard to the visit of the European delegation consisting of 18 European countries, she stressed that funds had been pledged to support the health sector in Gaza.
In turn, Dr. Ayed Yaghi, Director of the Medical Relief Association, presented the latest international reports issued on the outbreak of the Corona epidemic inside Palestine, explaining that in the Gaza Strip since last April, there were 4 ventilators for every 100 thousand citizens, compared to the West Bank where there were 7-8 devices for every 100 thousand citizens .
Yaghi pointed out that there are 3 challenges facing the health system in Gaza, the most important of which is securing the necessary and sufficient quantities of oxygen for patients.
The second challenge, according to Yaghi, is the number of beds allocated for the sick, especially severe cases, stressing that there are efforts to secure 200 intensive care beds next week, until the moment there are 180 beds.
The third challenge, Yaghi says, “is the ability of medical staff to work, since the number is basically insufficient, at a time when the number of people with corona from the health staff is rising. He pointed out that the percentage of Corona infections among citizens reached 1.02%, while the number of deaths reached 0.06%.
