Coronavirus disease 2019?(COVID-19) Situation Report 42

occupied Palestinian territory, issued 03 September?2020
Information for period: 5 March – 03 September 2020

Highlights
  • In August, the?total?number of?COVID-19?cases in the oPt?doubled from 15,201 to 31,929
  • Gaza?continues to report?cases detected in the community with numbers rising from?41?new?cases?reported?during?last week to?446?new cases?this week
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.

Scaling up testing in Gaza:?today WHO delivered 50 COVID-19 testing kits and 4000 swabs to the local health authorities in?the?Gaza Strip which will help screen more than 4,900 people to help?scaling up testing?and contain the ongoing outbreak?of COVID-19 ?within?the community.

?Coordination,?planning?and monitoring ?
  • The Palestinian Authority¡¯s Health Minister,?Dr Mai al-Kaila, plans to visit?the Gaza Strip?with a delegation?to support the COVID-19 response
  • In the Gaza Strip, the Health?Sub-Cluster?met on September 3?and was briefed by the?Gaza?health authorities?on the status of the COVID-19 response. In addition, operational challenges and needs were discussed, especially in relation to?HC?partner¡¯s emerging challenges such as ability to sustain their services.? A presentation?on the outcome of the?recent Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO) workshop, highlighting vulnerable persons and needs was also shared.
  • Local authorities have?introduced?stricter lockdown measures on?selected?COVID-19 hotspot?locations?in the Gaza and North Governorates (at the north end of the Strip)?with no movement except for emergency?purposes until?further notice. Further?in the?south,?in?the Middle,?Khanyonis?and Rafah governorates,?movement?is allowed?from?0:800?¨C20:00?and between?governorates until?4?September?at 22:30
  • COVID-19 testing of health workers, in-patients, contacts and suspected cases continues in the Gaza strip.?A total of?7,351?tests?have been?conducted?since August 24.?People?who have been in contact with positive COVID-19 cases?are urged?to?self-identify?and self-quarantine at home?and maintain infection prevention control measures, in order?to?facilitate tracing and?stop further transmission
  • Public primary healthcare service delivery?is?limited to 26 out of 49 Primary Health Centers (PHC) distributed across the five governorates?of the Gaza Strip,?which?are?be providing essential services only.?MOH has suspended work at outpatient clinics, non-emergency surgeries and stopped visits to inpatients in all hospitals. Citizens are being urged to adhere to the instructions of infection prevention and control, and physical distancing
  • In the West?Bank,??the?Palestinian?Authority¡¯s?Council?of Ministers announced a staggered introduction to the school year, beginning on September 6.?School starts for students from grades one, and the rest of the classes are?to be?enrolled in school within two weeks.
Surveillance?
  • The WHO risk assessment remains very high for the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt)
  • The number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 continues to?rise
  • The total number of cases is?31,929?including?31,348?cases?in the West Bank?and?581?in the Gaza Strip
  • In the month of August,?the number of COVID-19?cases increased by 50 per cent?(or?16,101?cases), averaging?519?cases per day. The highest?daily total for?number of cases confirmed for?oPt?was?recorded?on 31 August at 875
  • Most cases recorded are from Hebron (13,552), East Jerusalem (7,458),?Jerusalem (2,378), Ramallah (2,303),?Bethlehem (1,604),?Nablus (1,332),?Qalqilya (924), Jenin (299) Tulkarm (386),?Salfit?(105)?and Tubas (85).
  • A total of?400?health workers are among those confirmed cases
  • In the West Bank,?28 patients?are?in a serious condition (ICU), with five requiring mechanical ventilation (as of 2 September, 14:00).
  • In the Gaza Strip,?the total number of confirmed cases is?581, including?500?active cases, five deaths and 76 recovered.?Out of the active cases, 20 are in a moderate to severe condition, including three patients receiving care in intensive care units (ICU).?A total of 70?health workers?are among those?cases
  • To-date, the?Ministry of?Health (MoH) reported a total of?21,670?cases have?recovered:?21,594?in?the West Bank (including?5,575?in East Jerusalem)?and?76?in Gaza.?One hundred and?eighty-nine?people?have died,?with?an?overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.59%
  • More?than half (53%) of all confirmed cases are?female (10,923?cases) and about?half?of?all cases (15,028?cases) are below the age of 50 years in the oPt, excluding East Jerusalem.
Laboratory diagnostics? ?
  • A total of?301,836?laboratory samples have been tested for COVID-19 according to the?MoH
  • Today, WHO delivered 50 testing kits to screen 4,900 people for COVID-19 and 4,000 swabs for COVID-19 testing to local health authorities in the Gaza Strip?(see image). This delivery is critical to support the scale up of testing to help contain the outbreak of COVID-19 within the community. Thanks to the Austrian Development Agency for supporting the delivery
  • West Bank Residents now about the inquire about COVID-19 test results online at?.
Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Isolation and Case Management, Operations Support and Logistics??
  • On 2 September, WHO supported the training of 230?Ministry of Health?(MoH) health workers in the five governorates of the?Gaza?Strip on case definition and infection protection control measures
  • 22,8019?Palestinians are in quarantine?(home or facility-based) to prevent further spread of the?disease
  • In?the Gaza Strip,?679?people are in one of?16?quarantine?facilities which include health?facilities,?hotels or other designated buildings
Risk Communications and Community Engagement (RCCE

To address the sudden escalation in cases in the Gaza Strip, the COVID-19 Risk Communication and Community Engagement Campaign, led by WHO, UNICEF and?MoH?and supported by partners?has:

  • Broadcast of radio messages daily on 6 channels in Gaza
  • Released an Emergency Media Pack with social media materials, videos, brochures and radio resources to media and NGOs in Gaza to inform and guide the public on the best preventative measures for COVID-19
  • Targeted?residents with specific Facebook promotions on basic preventative measures
  • Organised printing and dissemination of more than 170,000?health?advice brochures for MOH and NGOs
  • scheduled 1 million text messages to be sent to residents
  • Met with NGOs and partners to further map the response
  • launched an interactive media campaign and song with local NGOs
  • Developed an animated children¡¯s TV program
More local information


Document Type: Situation Report, Update
Document Sources: World Health Organization (WHO)
Subject: Health
Publication Date: 03/09/2020
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