Attachments
• This report provides a comparison of COVID-19 infections in December 2021 and January 2022.
• The Ministry of Health (MOH) announced the first case of the Omicron variant in the Gaza Strip at the beginning of December 2021. However, the source of infection could not be identified. The number of reported cases continued to increase between December and January, reaching the highest weekly number of infections registered in Gaza by the end of January. (figure 1).
• Due to the rapid spread of the Omicron variant, the increase in reported cases in January was accompanied by an increase in positivity rate across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip (Figure 4).
• A significant increase in the number of new cases and the incidence rate of COVID-19 infection per 100,000 population was observed in all five governorates of the Gaza Strip in January (Figures 2 and 3). The governorates of Gaza and Khanunis reported the highest number of new cases respectively, while the highest incidence rate per 100000 population was reported in Khanunis district followed by Gaza governorate.
• A fivefold increase in the number of reported cases was observed, from 3,063 in December 2021 to 15,148 in January 2022.
• The MOH continues to test only test suspected cases and travelers who need COVID-19 test certificates. Despite an increase in cases, during the reporting period, no tests were conducted for those who had been in contact with COVID19 patients.