Deputy Minister of Health, Dr.Yousef Abu Al-Rish, in a meeting with government officials, decision-makers, in the Gaza Strip, stressed the importance of the community’s role in addressing the Corona pandemic.
Dr. Abu Al-Rish said, “The Ministry of Health is preparing for the possibility that the coronavirus may reach the Gaza Strip, and we are supporting a set of preventive and precautionary measures to confront the accelerating spread of coronavirus epidemic.
Indicating that the Ministry has harnessed all its capabilities and resources to strengthen procedures and form the first defense line for citizens in Gaza Strip.”
“There are two factors that govern the current phase and its future, which are the severity of government measures, on the one hand, and the commitment of society on the other, noting that if our procedures are not controlled and our behavior is not following the seriousness of the situation, our losses will be great and the results will be dire.” Dr. Abu Al-Rish added.
There are 3 expected scenarios in the future, the most difficult of which is the spread of the virus within the Gaza Strip, and the second is what we wish to reach, which is the non-spread of the virus once and for all.
As for the third possibility, which is what is being worked on within the present juncture depending upon four-pronged, the first pillar is to control Gaza Strip from the Rafah border crossing with Egypt and the Erez border crossing with Israel. The second is to implement preventive and control measures.
The third focus was that Gaza needs considerable medical aid as well as material and professional support from the international community to control the outbreak of the coronavirus. Where the final pillar counted on promoting societal behavior.
Dr.Abu Al-Rish added that the Ministry of Health has succeeded to protect a large extent of the community, as no positive cases were recorded inside the residential areas in the Gaza Strip, that being said, this should not be matched by a state of complacency in following the measures of prevention and community safety.
There are 20 coronavirus quarantine facilities in Gaza’s south, including empty schools, hotels, and medical facilities which are currently housing more than 1,950 people who have just returned to the blockaded coastal enclave.