Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Update 12, oPt, March 22, 2020

Situation in occupied Palestinian Territory (oPt):

On 22 March 2020, the Ministry of Health (MoH) confirmed 6 new cases of
COVID-19 to WHO: four in the West Bank and two in Gaza Strip. This is in addition to 6 cases confirmed on 21 March. All new cases, except one are asymptomatic and one case has mild symptoms. All new cases under medical observation at designated health facilities. Contact tracing initiated for all cases
The total cases in all occupied Palestinian territory are now 59, including 57 cases in West Bank and 2 cases in Gaza. MOH have reported a total of 17 cases have recovered
See map below to confirm where cases originate from
In the West Bank, the MoH have placed more than 9900 people coming from abroad under the quarantine – both at home and at the designated facilities
In Gaza, those coming from crossings at Rafah or Erez have been quarantined since March 15 and 1287 people are in quarantine either at Rafah border quarantine or at health facilities or schools designated as quarantine facilities, and 2,071 people are in home quarantine
On behalf of the United Nations, UNICEF and WHO jointly developed a risk communications and engagement plan to support the Ministry of Health to share health advice, mobilize the community and combat rumours and misinformation. The plan is supported by a taskforce, which includes the MoH, Bank of Palestine, and the Palestinian International Cooperation Agency. A new COVID-19 campaign has been launched to share critical and responsive health information across radio, TV, social media and mobile networks. To get involved and help disseminate health information contact Alice Plate ay WHO: platea@who.int
The UN Resident Coordinator supported by WHO and partners held another donor briefing on 18 March 2020 and informed the donor community of required resources to support the government’s efforts and to address identified priority medical supply and equipment gaps. The plan outlines immediate priority COVID-19 response actions developed by WHO and Health Cluster partners to support containment and to address immediate health system gaps
WHO urges the public to obtain the latest information on COVID-19 from key sources such as MoH (dashboard) and WHO (see Twitter, Facebook and oPt website), and follow and promote the recommended basic preventive and protective measures.