WHO: Gaza’s Health System near Collapse due to COVID-19, Israel’s Siege
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The healthcare system in the Gaza Strip is near collapse as a result of Israel's stifling siege and the rise in coronavirus cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Abdelnaser Soboh, emergency health co-ordinator in the WHO's Gaza office, warned that "within a week, we will become unable to care for critical cases".
Of Gaza's 100 ventilators, 79 are already taken up by COVID-19 patients, said Abdelraouf Elmanama, a member of the enclave's pandemic task force.
Some 14,000 people have become infected with COVID-19 in the Palestinian enclave and 65 have died so far – with most of the infections occurring after August.
"In 10 days, the health system will become unable to absorb such a hike in cases and there might be cases that will not find a place at intensive care units," Elmanama warned.
The enclave is home to some two million people who live in close proximity and are susceptible to contagions. Israel's 14-year siege of the Strip has left its medical services in tatters and the enclave suffering an acute fuel shortage.