The latest
- 348,657 Palestinians tested positive for COVID-19; 341,595 recoveries; 3,890 deaths
- Of those who tested positive 201,391 live in the West Bank, 118,255 live in Gaza, and 29,011 live in East Jerusalem
- 929,274 Israelis tested positive for COVID-19; 877,933 recoveries; 6,611 deaths
?After months of a stalled rollout, the vaccination rate in the West Bank and Gaza has increased to nearly a quarter of the eligible population, following new inoculation sites. According to the World Health Organization’s latest situation report, 626,279 are now vaccinated, of whom 512,416 are in the West Bank and 113,863 in the Gaza Strip.
Those numbers should continue to increase in the coming weeks as Palestinians are finally receiving new shipments from their deal with Pfizer to purchase 4 million doses. We previously covered in this newsletter the pharma giant sought to transfer vaccines from Israel to the West Bank, following a shortage of stock. The arrangement fell through after Palestinians returned a stockpile to Israel that was due to expire in a few days.
This week the Palestinian minister of health announced 150,000 doses of Pfizer arrived, which came on the heels of 203,580 doses the previous week, and another the week before 171,990.
New cases up 81%
? The jabs couldn’t have come at a better time. Cases are up across the occupied Palestinian territory, with an over 80% increase in confirmed infections and a 50% uptick in deaths in the last week. While testing also nudged up by 12%, it is still a fraction of what it was in the spring. At that time Gaza ran close to 3,000 laboratory tests a day. Today, it’s near 600. What’s more, the positivity rate on new tests is 27%, indicating that there are far too few tests being carried out concealing a larger number of unaccounted for cases.
Gaza currently accounts for 68% of new infections in the oPt.
“In the West Bank, the situation is not promising, with an increase of 1,004 active cases (a double than the previous week),” said the WHO.
The big picture: We’re still only learning about a small number of current active cases because laboratory testing is too underfunded and under equipped.
Israel to become first country to give third shot to people over 50
?On Thursday evening Israel’s Prime Minister Naftali Bennett announced Israel would begin distributing a third Pfizer shot to people over the age of 50, becoming the first country in the world to do so. The extended vaccination program began today.
The move was signaled to earlier in the week when Bennett told reporters Tuesday, “nine out of ten severe cases are people over 50. Therefore, I ask every Israeli citizen over 50 to be very careful in the coming weeks.”
The following day, Israel’s coronavirus task force released plans for its “green pass” system that will begin next week. Under updated guidelines, all persons over the age of 3 will need to present negative test results, or a vaccination card to enter public establishments.
“The ‘Green Pass’ plan will apply to all branches of the economy except malls and places of commerce,” the Corona cabinet said.
For those larger locations, Israel will impose a “purple pass,” which limits the number of people in businesses or mass gatherings to 1,000, if indoors, and 5,000 if outdoors.
The government will impose additional restrictions on gatherings in private homes. Houses can allow up to 50 in closed spaces and up to 100 in open spaces.
That’s it for this week. Stay safe folks!
