Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) WHO Update 43

Coronavirus disease 2019?(COVID-19) Situation Report 43

occupied Palestinian territory, issued 10 September 2020

Information for period: 5 March – 10?September 2020

Highlights

COVID-19 cases in Gaza Strip tripled since last week to 1,551 cases
WHO delivered lab kits, vital medical equipment and health information to support the response in?Gaza
WHO established a temporary coordination mechanism for Gaza patient referrals

WHO delivered 50 pallets of life-saving medical equipment and supplies on September 7 to health authorities in the Gaza Strip including 4 BiPAP ventilators, 31 Oxygen Concentrators, 10,200 swabs and thousands of personal protective equipment items to support the response the COVID-19 outbreak, thanks to the support of the Kuwait Government

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.

Below is an infographic highlighting WHO’s Key Performance Indicators?to track?the COVID-19 response:

?Coordination,?planning?and monitoring ?

In the?Gaza Strip,?community?transmission?remains a serious concern due to capacity gaps?of?the health system;?local authorities have eased movement restrictions in Rafah,?Khanyounis,?the?Middle?Governorate and Gaza?city, with movement allowed from?07:00 to 20:00, except for hotspot areas with clusters of cases. The North?Governorate remains under lockdown due to the high number?of reported cases.?Citizens are urged to adhere to the public?health and?infection prevention and control measures,?to?wear masks and maintain physical distancing. Schools remain closed until further notice
COVID-19 testing of health workers, in-patients, contacts and suspected cases continues.?People?who have been in contact with positive COVID-19 cases?are urged?to?self-identify and?quarantine at home?and maintain infection prevention?and?control measures, in order?to?facilitate tracing and?stop further transmission
Provision of?essential?health?services, including vaccination?and?maternal?and child services, is gradually resuming?at the five main Ministry of Health (MoH) district?primary healthcare?centres, as?some?services were?temporarily suspended?following?the detection of the first case within the community on 25 August.?Gaza?health authorities?are?working closely with UNRWA and NGO health providers to ensure provision of essential medical services to?non-communicable?disease?patients through outreach teams
WHO continues to address key priorities, including to scale-up testing and contact tracing; case management capacity;?risk communications and community?engagement.?The provision of essential protective?equipment (PPE) for frontline health workers continues to be a priority together with training in?infection?prevention and?control
Additional challenges?include:?access to information about available health and testing services; take up of COVID-19?free call?line 103; citizens avoiding medical treatment due to fear of infection
In the West Bank,?since?the?school opening?on?Sept 6,?some?80?schools?had to?temporarily close, following confirmed COVID-19 cases among pupils?and/or school staff.

Surveillance and Laboratory diagnostics? ?

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?increased to?37,214?including?35,663?cases?in the West Bank?and?1,551?in the Gaza Strip
In the Gaza Strip,?the?cumulative?total of confirmed cases is?1,551, including?1,427?active cases,?10?deaths and?114?recovered;?three patients?are?receiving care in intensive care units (ICU), including two connected to mechanical ventilators. A total of?96?health workers?are?also?among the?confirmed?cases.Confirmed cases?continue to?increase,?with?over 100 cases per day reported for?most days in the reporting period (since 4 Sept)
To-date, the?Ministry of?Health (MoH) reported a total of?25,483?cases have?recovered:?25,369?in?the West Bank (including?6,662?in East Jerusalem)?and?114?in Gaza.?Two?hundred and?twenty-four?have died,?with?an?overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.88%
More?than half (52.7%) of all confirmed cases are?female (15,070?cases) and?more than?two-third (71%)?of?all cases (20,438?cases) are below the age of 50 years
A total of?326,469?laboratory samples have been tested for COVID-19 according to the?MoH
In the West Bank,?most cases recorded are from Hebron?(14,447), East Jerusalem (8,550),?Jerusalem (2,718), Ramallah (2,801),?Bethlehem (1,946),?Nablus (1,732),?Qalqilya (1,143),?Tulkarm (502),?Jenin (359),?Salfit?(195)?and Tubas (188).?A total of?400?health workers are among those confirmed cases
31?patients?are?in serious condition?requiring intensive care treatment in?ICUs, with?10?requiring mechanical ventilation (as of?10?September, 14:00).

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

WHO supported a 2-day training of 45 health workers in the Gaza Strip on COVID-19 case management and infection prevention and control to help strengthen the capacity of the health workforce to respond to the rise of COVID-19 cases in the community. Thanks to the Austrian Government.

26,230?Palestinians are in quarantine?(home or facility-based) to prevent further spread of the?disease
In?the Gaza Strip,?296?people are in one of?10?quarantine?facilities which include health?facilities,?hotels or other designated?buildings.?People?needing health care?are being isolated in the European Hospital?(EGH), while infected medical personnel are isolated in the Turkish Hospital.?Mild?and?asymptomatic cases?are being accommodated at the schools adjacent to?EGH, in addition to?a designated facility in Deir Al-Balah in the Middle?Governorate.
WHO delivered?further?essential medical supplies,?equipment and training:
- 50 pallets of medical equipment + supplies to health authorities in Gaza?including?4 ventilators, 31 Oxygen Concentrators?and?thousands of PPE item (sept 7) with the Government of Kuwait’s support (see image)
- Training to 45 health workers on?COVID-19 case management, infection, prevention and control and proper use of personal protective equipment (see image).
In?the?West Bank,?people who were exposed to confirmed cases, and were either not tested, or tested negative, are being sent to home quarantine, as are Palestinians who enter the West Bank from Jordan or Israel.?The vast majority of?confirmed cases with mild symptoms are also being referred to home isolation

East Jerusalem

The rate of infection remains high in East Jerusalem. On 6 September, the Israeli government approved night-time curfews in some 40 cities in Israel with high infection rates, and in many Palestinian?neighbourhoods?in East Jerusalem. The curfew will be?implemented?between 19:00 and 05:00, entailing the closure of non-essential businesses and?educational institutions

Advocacy

Following extensive advocacy and negotiations with stakeholders, WHO initiated a temporary coordination mechanism on 6 September to support Palestinian patients and companions required by Israel to apply for permits to access essential health services outside the Gaza Strip. Patients in the Gaza Strip face considerable barriers to access due to the delay and denial of Israeli-issued permits to exit for healthcare. Since 19 May 2020, patients have faced additional difficulties because of the absence of a coordinated system for permit applications.
Gaza patients identified by their medical practitioners as needing health services not available in the Gaza Strip may be referred for services in other areas of the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), or outside the oPt to Israel, Jordan or Egypt. All patients referred to the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, as well as to Israel or Jordan, require Israeli-issued permits to exit. The new mechanism will re-establish a centralized application process for patients to submit permit applications once they have been identified by the Palestinian Ministry of Health as needing a referral outside Gaza
WHO continues to advocate for the unhindered access of patients and their companions to essential health services?within and outside the occupied Palestinian?territory.
A flowchart of the application process can be found?, in?addition?to?a??on the mechanism.?Meanwhile,?WHO’s?latest monthly access report can be found?.

Risk Communications and Community Engagement (RCCE

This week WHO and UNICEF – supported by the oPt Humanitarian Fund – delivered 200,000 COVID-19 preventive measures brochures to UNRWA to distribute and reach over 1 million refugees through 200,000 food parcels. 140,000 COVID-19 awareness and education brochures and posters were delivered to local health authorities for distribution to communities and health facilities, supported by the Government of Kuwait.

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