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Active cases continue to decline in West Bank and Israel, Saeb Erekat has surgery in Jerusalem

Palestinian artist paints a mural to raise awareness on wearing face masks amid the coronavirus pandemic in Gaza City on October 22, 2020. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour/APA Images)

The Latest:

  • 61,183 Palestinians tested positive for COVID-19; 53,925 recovered; 510 deaths
  • Of Palestinians who tested positive, 44,404 are in the West Bank; 11,604 are in East Jerusalem; 5,175 are in the Gaza Strip
  • 308,840 Israelis tested positive for COVID-19; 290,130 recovered; 2,329 deaths

Last week we discussed dropping rates of active COVID-19 cases across Israel and the West Bank, with new cases still on the rise in Gaza. This week, it looks like those trends have continued with around a 12% decrease in active Palestinian cases.

According to the UN, active cases dropped from 7,597 to 6,703 between October 5 and 19, however, the organization warned, “The decline in active cases is partially attributed to the limited testing, driven by the shortage of testing kits, particularly in the West Bank; only Palestinians who are traveling and those exhibiting symptoms of COVID-19 can be tested.”

At least 482,531 laboratory samples of Palestinians have been tested. 

Palestinian students wearing protective masks as they receive textbooks amid the coronavirus pandemic at their school in Gaza City on October 21, 2020. (Photo: Mahmoud Ajjour/APA Images)

Among Palestinians over half of the coronavirus cases have come from Hebron and East Jerusalem. Gaza represents around 28 percent of all cases, of which 85 percent come from Gaza City and the northern districts. Despite over 1,000 new cases in Gaza this week, lockdown measures implemented seven weeks ago continue to be eased with more businesses and restaurants opening. A nighttime curfew is still in place across the region. 

In Israel, where a second wide scale lockdown began easing on Saturday, daily new cases have reduced significantly over the last week and month. Earlier this week Israeli hit a low of 410 new cases in a single day, dramatically lower the almost 8,000 new cases on at the start of the month on October 1. 

The World Health Organization said in its latest situation report that the Palestinian overall case fatality rate, or CFR, is .83%, which is quite low on a global scale. For comparison, the U.S.’s is 2.7% and Israel’s is .7%.

Saeb Erekat’s daughter releases update from hospital in Israel

Saeb Erekat, Secretary-General of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), addresses the media following a meeting with foreign diplomats from the Temporary International Presence in Hebron in the West Bank city of Ramallah on January 30, 2019. (Photo: Hothaifa Soror/WAFA/APA Images)

This week senior Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat underwent a bronchostomy, or a surgical opening in the chest to evaluate lung damage. Erekat is currently intubated and receiving oxygen support on a ventilator.

His daughter Salam Erekat, who is a physician, gave an update about her father’s condition that was released over social media by the PLO negotiations affairs department. 

“My father is still in the intensive care unit.  His condition is stable with ventilator support. Today, he was connected to the ECMO machine to support the lung and prevent its damage. God willing, his condition will improve,” she said Tuesday. 

The senior Palestinian officials was transferred from the West Bank to Hadassah Medical Center on Sunday. In 2017 Erekat had a lung transplant in Virginia. In 2012 he was hospitalized in Ramallah following a heart attack. 

Earlier this week our correspondent Yumna Patel covered a row that erupted outside of the hospital where Erekat is currently being treated. Some Israelis have gathered to protest, with one placards reading “let him die,” according to the Jerusalem Post. 

Patel reports: “On Twitter, many of the top tweets under the hashtag for Saeb Erekat are from Israeli voices on social media, wishing death upon Erekat and mocking the PA for sending one of their top officials for treatment in Israel.”