Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) WHO Situation Report 67

Issued 11 March 2021

Highlights

• The COVID-19 situation in oPt is still being driven by the West Bank: infection rates have started to slow, but case numbers are still overwhelming with hospitals at full capacity in many areas
• Gaza has also now taken a worrying upturn with a 30% jump in newly detected cases in one week.

Key Performance Indicators for COVID-19 Response in oPt 

WHO preparedness, readiness and response

WHO continues to work closely with partners to support Ministry of Health’s (MoH) efforts to respond to the COVID-19 outbreak.

Coordination, planning and monitoring​

• On March 4, President Mahmoud Abbas declared a state of emergency in Palestine for 30 days effective immediately to combat the coronavirus outbreak. Restrictions include the following:
• No movement between governorates in West Bank, except for medical personnel, essential goods and food
• Total overnight lockdown continues from 1900 to 0600 nightly (except for pharmacies and bakeries)
• All public and private schools closed, except for high schools; universities and educational institutes to return to remote learning
• Restrictions have been eased in Gaza recently, but are now expected to be reimposed considering the high jump in cases in the last week coupled with the high density of people in the area
• Decisive public health measures and strict adherence to hygiene protocols and physical distancing continue to be essential to reduce the spread of COVID-19.

Surveillance

• The WHO risk assessment remains very high: despite a slight slowdown in the number of cases in the West Bank, the increase remains significant. There has been a slight 1% rise in newly recorded cases, and a 34% increase in deaths, including the highest number of daily deaths since the start of the pandemic
• The West Bank governorate of Nablus (17.7%) now accounts for the highest of all active cases in oPt, followed by Hebron (15.4%), Ramallah (12.3%), East Jerusalem (9.9%), Bethlehem (9.5%), Gaza Strip (9%), Tulkarm (5.9%) and Qalqilya (4.5%)
• The overall Case Fatality Rate (CFR) remains at 1.1 %. The CFR is the proportion of deaths among identified confirmed cases
• Hospitals across the West Bank are being overwhelmed by the increase in patients being admitted with COVID-19. Prime Minister Mohamed Shtayyeh stated that most are at more than 100% capacity including intensive care wards
• Infections across oPt are being exacerbated by the spread of new variants, in particular the variant B.1.1.7 (identified in the UK)
• The WHO office stands ready to assist health authorities by sending the samples to reference laboratories for variant testing.

COVID-19 Vaccine  

• The first shipment of vaccines due in oPt under the global COVAX initiative, led by Gavi, WHO, UNICEF and CEPI, is expected to arrive on March 17 at Ben Gurion airport, and taken thereafter to central vaccine stores in Gaza and at Nablus in West Bank. The shipment will contain in total 37,440 doses of Pfizer vaccines: 25,740 will go to Nablus and 11,700 to Gaza
• A shipment of 40,000 doses of Sputnik vaccines are due to arrive in Gaza in coming days, from the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
• The PA MoH stated that 100,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccines from China are due, the batch is in process and arrival date to be confirmed
• Palestinians can now start registering for vaccination through  http://vaccine.moh.ps
• Meanwhile, Israel began on March 8 a two-week programme to vaccinate over 100,000 Palestinians who carry Israeli work permits, using its supply of Moderna vaccines to do this
• Up till now, 4,900 people have received their first doses in the West Bank, of whom 90% are health workers in Intensive Care Units (ICUs) and Covid-19 designated facilities
• In Gaza, a total of 4,746 frontline healthcare workers, including UNRWA health staff, have received their first doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, in one of six assigned vaccination centres across the Gaza Strip.

Laboratory testing and diagnostics  ​

• The number of tests conducted in the oPt has increased by 21% during the reporting period (5 – 11 March), with 46,949 tests conducted
• In the Gaza Strip, an average of 1,923 tests per day have been conducted over the past week (5 – 11 March) with a positivity rate of 7%.

Infection Prevention and Control (IPC), Isolation and Case Management, Operations Support and Logistics 

• As of March 10, the overall occupancy rate of COVID-19 dedicated hospital beds in the Gaza Strip is 13%, with 71 of 540 beds occupied. Currently, 17 of the 90 Intensive Care Unit (ICU) beds (19%) are occupied, with six patients requiring invasive mechanical ventilation
• COVID-19 designated hospitals in the West Bank are near full capacity. 90.5% of all beds dedicated to COVID-19 patients and 93% of ICU beds are now occupied.

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