Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) Situation Report 48: occupied Palestinian territory, issued 15 October 2020, information for period: 5 March - 15 October 2020
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Planning is progressing to prepare the health system to secure COVID-19 vaccine - once available - for most vulnerable target groups in Palestine
Government of Germany provides $1 million to support the COVID-19 response
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, UNICEF and other key partners support the MoH in development of the COVID-19 vaccine deployment plan to ensure a smooth introduction of COVID-19 vaccine once it would become available
Palestine is among the 92 countries to receive funding for procurement of COVID-19 vaccines through the COVAX facility supported by GAVI and other partners.
The funding will cover up to 20% of vaccine needs, prioritising vulnerable groups: health and social workers, people above 65 years and those under 65 with underlying conditions
In the Gaza Strip a curfew is still in place in all governorates from 20:00 to 07:00
Around 35,000 Tawjihi (senior high) students returned to school under strict precautionary measures, on 10 October, as an initial step to resuming school attendance, in the Gaza Strip
The lockdown in Israel, affecting East Jerusalem, has been extended until October 18
WHO continues to support the coordination for import and delivery of essential equipment:
This month, WHO has delivered 20 COVID-19 extraction kits (for 20,000 tests) and 22,000 swabs to Gaza
Six defibrillators were delivered to MoH in Ramallah on 15 October
10 oxygen concentrators were delivered to local health authorities in the Gaza Strip on 15 October (see image).
Surveillance
The WHO risk assessment remains very high as the number of people testing positive for SARS-CoV-2 continues to increase
From 1-15 October, the total number of COVID-19 cases rose by 6,900 cases (on average 460 cases per day). Four hundred and seventy-one have died, with an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 0.82%.