Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 47

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 47

occupied Palestinian territory, issued 8?October 2020
Information for period: 5 March – 8?October 2020

Highlights

WHO supported the coordination and delivery of ambulances and trauma kits to the West Bank

Today WHO joined a virtual ceremony at the Ministry of Health in Ramallah with the Republic of Korea to handover three ambulances. The vehicles will be invaluable to support the transport of sick or injured Palestinians for emergency and non-emergency care during the COVID-19 pandemic. WHO proudly supported the coordination of the vehicles into Palestine.?

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 outbreak.

?Coordination,?planning?and monitoring???

WHO Head of Office and acting Humanitarian/Resident?Coordinator, Dr Gerald Rockenschaub visited the?Gaza Strip?on October 7 and 8. Several meetings were conducted with local authority officials to discuss the needs and challenges related to the current COVID-19 situation, as well as the provision of UN assistance in response to the?economic consequences.?Below is a summary of the latest challenges:

Acute shortages of laboratory supplies and equipment needed for COVID-19 testing remain?a significant challenge,?in light of?the growing number of COVID-19 cases. The Gaza?central laboratory?projects?200,000 tests are needed until end December 2020
Critical shortages of essential drugs and disposables continue to affect healthcare service provision in the Gaza Strip. As of end of September 2020, 47% of essential drugs were at zero stock level (less than one month’s supply). This is?jeopardizing the lives of the most vulnerable, such as transplant (immuno-suppressed)?and hemodialysis?patients, and up to 350 oncology patients. Approximately 13,000 elective surgeries were?suspended due to resource?constraints
Primary healthcare service delivery?is?compromised?by the?outbreak, since 50% of?primary?healthcare staff are re-assigned to support?the?COVID-19 response
Shortages of qualified intensive care unit doctors and nurses needed to manage critical cases is another challenge. WHO?and partners like MSF?are?supporting?health authorities in training additional 60 doctors and 200 nurses on ICU case management, to enhance?health?system?capacities
Shortages of personal protective equipment (PPEs) for frontline health workers?continue.?The Health cluster estimates that up to 150,000 full PPE kits, 1 million surgical masks and 2 million gloves, are needed for?the?response?over?the next three months.

In the Gaza Strip,?movement restrictions?were?eased, allowing movement between governorates and partial opening of local markets.?A?curfew is still in place in all governorates from?20:00?to?07:00.?Local authorities are?also?preparing to resume operating schools?on October 10, after being suspended?and?relying on?e-learning?from?25 August.?Around 35,000?Tawjihi?(senior high) students are expected to?return?to school as?an initial step
The?lockdown?in Israel, affecting East Jerusalem,?has been extended?to Oct?14
WHO continues to support the coordination and delivery of essential?equipment:
- On 7 October, 4?Complete Blood Count?analysers?were delivered to?the?PA Ministry of?Health (MoH)?–?one?will be delivered to?the?Gaza?Strip
- On 9 Oct,?three?ambulances?were?delivered to?the Ministry of?Health?in Ramallah,?donated by?the?Republic of Korea ?(pictured)
In the last week, WHO provided the following?essential medical equipment to emergency departments in?Gaza’s?five?main hospitals to be used in?Respiratory Triage Centers (RTCs), see the ‘Sustaining Essential Health Services: WHO Trauma?Programme‘?section?for?details
WHO is continuing to?support the entry?and?delivery?of?medical equipment and?supplies?into the country?(including ventilators)?for Saudi Arabia, Germany and?India
Significant quantities of medical equipment including ECGs and patient monitors are also arriving, with procurement support from UNICEF.

Surveillance??

The WHO risk assessment remains very high?as?the?number?of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 continues to?increase
The total number of COVID-19 cases rose by 20,603 or 40% (average 686 cases per day) across the oPt in September. From 1- 7 October, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose by 3,814 cases (on average 476 cases per day). Four hundred and twenty two have died, with an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.77%.

Laboratory diagnostics???

A total of 440,244 laboratory samples have been tested for COVID-19 according to the ?MoH.

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

A series of infection prevention training sessions for 35 health providers in Maternal and Child Health services were supported by the Palestinian National Institute of Public Health (PNIPH) team and WHO in Gaza. The training focused on general infection prevention and control related to reproductive health services during the COVID-19 outbreak?

15,512?Palestinians are in quarantine?(home or facility-based) to prevent further spread of the?disease
In?the Gaza Strip,?147?people are in one of?three?quarantine?facilities which include health?facilities,?hotels?and other designated buildings
The?Palestinian National Institute of Public Health (PNIPH) team?and WHO?in the Gaza Strip, conducted a series of infection prevention training sessions for 35 health providers working in Maternal and Child Health?services (pictured). It included discussions, lectures, and role-play. The team aims to train 160 health providers from reproductive health services, including doctors, nurses, midwives, lab technicians, and pharmacists over the next several week
In the West Bank,?the PNIPH and?MoH??in partnership with?Juzoor?for Health and Social Development?is conducting a series of?capacity building events?between September and December 2020 to build the capacity of the local?ICU?health workforce?focusing on the?BASIC (The Basic Assessment and Support in Intensive Care)?and?BLS (Basic Life Support)?training. More than 50?doctors, nurses, and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) working in emergency units at?MoH?and private sector hospitals?build?their?skills?and knowledge to support critical care of COVID-19 patients
WHO continues to coordinate and support the delivery of vital medical equipment for the COVID-19 response across Gaza and the West Bank (see images for details).

East Jerusalem?

As of 7 October,?33 COVID-19 patients?are being?treated at the two COVID-19 designated hospitals?in the East Jerusalem Hospital Network.?COVID-19 bed occupancy at St. Joseph is around 95% (with 24 patients) and 70% (with 9 patients) in Al-Makassed
An additional 8 patients are treated at Augusta Victoria Hospital (4 inpatients and 4 companions). This is the first time AVH treats patients other than those admitted
There are 5?health?staff infected with COVID-19?(3?from AVH and 2 from St. Joseph). Eight staff are under quarantine from Al-Makassed
St. Joseph is almost doubling its COVID-19 bed capacity by 22 beds to 50 beds, by adding a new ward. This will increase the overall bed capacity of the designated EJHN hospitals to 72 beds, not including AVH’s 16 COVID-19 beds for its inpatients.

Mental health and psychosocial support ?

This year’s , on 10 October, comes at a time when our daily lives have changed considerably as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. This even aims to raise awareness of mental health issues around the world and mobilize efforts in support of mental health. WHO has been working diligently to support MHPSS needs in the oPt.?

WHO in?the?oPt has supported?the?MoH?MHPSS?response?to:

Build the capacity for?six?emergency?MHPSS?teams on Psychological First Aid?and WHO Basic Psychosocial Skills:?A Guide for COVID-19 responders; supervision and support for?MHPSS?responders was provided
Support a campaign on the impact of COVID-19 on young people specifically?on?the increase of substance use among them
Promote messages on the importance of dealing with stress and?well being?on social media
Procure psychotropics?for health authorities in Gaza
Distribute information for frontline health workers on managing stress due to the pressure of their work on COVID-19 response in isolation and quarantine centers.

Risk Communications and Community Engagement???

WHO tailored and delivered 2,000 Community Engagement kits for Palestinian NGOs in the West Bank to mobilise their volunteer bases and share health information about COVID-19.??The kits included alcogel, t-shirts, hats and a bag and were accompanied by 270,000 brochures.

The?COVID-19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement Campaign, led by WHO, UNICEF and?MoH?and supported by partners continues to share health information and address misinformation through its national campaign. In the last month (September) it has:

Delivered more than?710,000 brochures to?MoH, NGOs (PNGO?and PMRS) and UNRWA in the West Bank and Gaza
Broadcast two interactive Q&A radio programs across seven radio stations in Gaza and West Bank. The episodes focused on COVID-19 preventive measures, essential public health services, Mental health,?GBV, stigma and rumors
Launched a ‘Back to School’ social media and mass media campaign in the West Bank to raise students’ awareness of physical distancing and hand washing
Shared?almost 150 social media messages with 40+ partners, governorates and media outlets and reached at more than?4 million views of content?on Facebook
Continued to broadcast of radio messages daily in Gaza
Sent more than 1 million text messages to Gaza residents
Shared messages via 16 billboards in West Bank and Gaza

Sustaining Essential Health Services: WHO Trauma Program ?

In the last two weeks, WHO has delivered essential equipment to Gaza’s Limb Reconstruction Centre, including an advanced orthopaedic mobile operating table (pictured), a sterilization device and a plaster electric saw. This is in addition to multiple items for Respiratory Triage Centers (RTCs), that WHO has helped set up outside Gaza’s main hospitals.

WHO is working closely?with?local?health authorities?in the Gaza Strip?during the COVID-19?pandemic?to provide vital medical equipment and supplies to the emergency departments in Gaza’s five main?hospitals
The equipment will be used in special triage tents, known as?Respiratory Triage Centers (RTCs),?that we have helped to set up outside each hospital, to?reduce pressure on?emergency medical staff inside.??The tents?are used to screen patients for COVID-19 before they enter the hospital to?stop?further spread of COVID-19 infection.
In the last two weeks,?WHO has?delivered the following devices and equipment:
10 triage tents (RTCs)?and five?electricity generators for the triage tents
55 mobile?foldable emergency beds?to use inside the tents, and to transport patients to emergency departments
10 monitors?to track patients’ vital signs
50 mobile screens to separate patients and stop them infecting each other
90,000?Personal Protective Equipment kits (PPEs) for medical staff: coveralls, shoe covers, face masks and face shields.
Since August, when Gaza recorded its first COVID-19 cases outside quarantine centers, the triage centers have processed 39,940 patients. Of these, 4,817 had respiratory problems

Supporting essential health services ?

Today, in a ceremony at the Ministry of Health in Ramallah, the Representative of the Russian Federation Mr. Gocha Buachidze joined WHO’s Head of office, Dr Gerald Rockenschaub, to deliver eight trauma kits to the Minister for Health Dr. Mai al-Kaila to support emergency response in Palestine. The kits are designed to be deployed quickly and can help up to 400 surgical interventions. The kits contain vital surgical and other medical equipment (such as resuscitators, stethoscopes and surgical instruments) and supplies (such as gloves, bandages, swabs and tourniquets) and essential drugs to meet the needs of patients in emergency situations. WHO thanks the Russian Federation for its generous donation, which also included 14 emergency kits delivered in March, and looks forward to working together to support better health for all Palestinians.?

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