Spike in coronavirus cases in Gaza worries main UN aid group

A clown and a person wearing a duck costume entertain Palestinian children during a lockdown imposed by the local authorities following a surge in coronavirus cases, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, on September 2, 2020. (AFP)

A Palestinian policemen stands at a road block preventing people to move from the northern to the southern Gaza Strip, on September 3, 2020 during a lockdown amid an outbreak of the Covid-19 disease. (AFP)

Dogs cross an empty street on September 3, 2020 during a lockdown amid an outbreak of the Covid-19 disease in Gaza City. (AFP)

• The Gaza Strip is home to two million Palestinians in cities, towns and refugee camps squeezed within an area of 360 square km
• UNRWA is asking for $94 million in contributions from countries so it can continue COVID-19 containment efforts

GAZA: Gaza has reported hundreds of coronavirus infections since the first case emerged in the general population last week, and a UN aid group warned that a lack of key medical items including ventilators could make it hard to treat the disease effectively.
Widely impoverished and densely populated, the area has been on lockdown since authorities confirmed four infections from a single family on Aug. 24. It was the first time the virus was detected outside quarantine zones set up for people returning from abroad.
Since then, 603 new cases have been recorded, nearly all among the general population, with four deaths since Aug. 24, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
The Gaza Strip is home to two million Palestinians in cities, towns and refugee camps squeezed within an area of 360 square km (139 square miles), with its borders sealed off by neighboring Israel and Egypt.
“Gaza is probably the most densely populated place on the face of the earth so measures to contain a virus as violent as COVID-19 are always extremely difficult to put in place,” said Tamara Alrifai, spokeswoman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) devoted to Palestinian refugees.
Israel and Egypt restrict movement over Gaza’s borders, citing security concerns over its ruling Hamas movement, deemed a terrorist organization by Israel and the United States.
Alrifai, in a virtual briefing for reporters streamed from Geneva, said Israel had not hindered humanitarian assistance to Gaza since the coronavirus crisis began and that whatever has been needed to fight COVID-19 “has been well facilitated.”
“The real challenge in Gaza is the unavailability of needed items such as ventilators and other medical items,” she said.
UNRWA is asking for $94 million in contributions from countries so it can continue COVID-19 containment efforts.