Daily report on Coronavirus Covid-19
Ministry of Health – Gaza Strip
The Ministry of Health has expanded the laboratory monitoring process to include hundreds of samples for quarantine inmates and contacts of patients in quarantine centers since the beginning of March 2020, no new cases of Corona virus have been recorded in the Gaza Strip so far, and laboratory testing of dozens of samples are still ongoing and the results will be announced upon completion.
Major General Tawfiq Abu Naim, Deputy Minister of MOI and his assistant, were examined. The results of their tests were negative and they will spend the recommended quarantine period.
We assure our people in the Gaza Strip that the health status of the nine cases that were announced last week are stable until the moment.
We follow the health status of 1719 of the returnees inside the quarantine center in the governorates of the Gaza Strip, including 983 patients who require direct health care in hotels, health centers and specialized hospitals. The quarantine will be extended from two to three weeks according to the recommendations of experts due to international reports showing the emergence of the disease after a period of two weeks of quarantine.
The pharmaceutical inspection teams have intensified their follow-up to the pharmaceutical institutions and have taken action against 10 institutions due to their violations of the prices of sterilization materials and protective requirements, and the Ministry will continue to follow up to ensure compliance with official prices and thanks our keen audience for following up on violators and reporting them as well.
We stress that all quarantine centers are considered closed centers for those inside them, including health and security crews and support teams, and entry or departure is not permitted under any circumstances, and those who violate this will be held accountable.
The Ministry of Health decided to minimize some primary health care services and limit it to specific centers in each governorate as it has been announced earlier. The services will be limited to family medicine, antenatal care, disposal of treatment of patients with chronic diseases and vaccination. The physiotherapy , radiology, laboratory and dental services will be limited to emergency cases.
The Ministry of Health faces critical levels of drug and medical consumables shortages, laboratory supplies, blood banks supplies, and corona virus screening materials, which puts us in challenges whose consequences are difficult to predict.
The Ministry of Health calls up on the international and relief institutions to take immediate measures to allocate $ 23 million to provide respirators, intensive care supplies, medications, medical consumables, laboratory supplies and laboratory testing materials as a first response to counter the outbreak of the virus in Gaza Strip.
We invite citizens and bank departments and employees to follow all safety and security procedures during receiving salaries, including post offices and ATM machines.
We require citizens to fully comply with the instructions of prevention and safety and to follow the procedures issued by the Ministry of Health and government agencies to enhance the community’s ability to face the new Corona virus, including staying in homes for longer periods of time and not to move except for extreme necessity only. Commitment to the home isolation for their safety and the safety of their community.
We invite the elderly, children, patients with pulmonary diseases, immune-compromised patients and chronically ill patients to avoid markets, gatherings and public places.
We emphasize the tightening of safety and prevention measures at commercial markets to ensure that no spread of infection within the Gaza Strip.
We invite our generous audience to communicate with the free hotline number 103 of the Ministry of Health or via WhatsApp at No. 0599503103 for health inquiries or to report any violations from pharmaceutical or medical institutions, with our best wishes for you on health and wellness.
Palestinian Ministry of Health
March 28, 2020