Naeem Ashraf Mushtaha
The world is currently facing an international health crisis that started in December 2019. Unlike anything the world has witnessed, the Coronavirus (COVID-19) has spread worldwide.
The virus first appeared in Wuhan in China, but it soon crossed nations-wide through flights that took off from China and landed in other places in the world. One of these countries is the KSA where thousands of Muslims had been performing Umra at the Kaaba. The virus has gone viral until it reached Palestine, and it is spreading very quickly, unlike other existing viruses, especially through the performers of Umra.
At first, the virus did not threaten the Strip, which led to maintaining normal daily-life activities the same, and receiving the arrivals with routine medical-check. Now, however, the Ministry of Health is afraid that the virus had entered the Strip from the arrivals who were not quarantined or who have not reported themselves to be infected.
The government in Gaza, which has been ruling the Strip since 2007 and has been under siege since, took all precautionary measures to prevent the virus from spreading and infecting the people of Gaza. It closed down all schools and universities under direct order from Mahmoud Abbas, the PLO’s President. It also opened 21 quarantines for arrivals, whose total number until March 26, 2020 reached 2,067 people including children, women, elderly and workers in the centers.
Khalil Al-Hayya, member in Hamas’ Political Bureau, said that the Movement has been focusing all its powers and potentials to prevent the spread of the disease and save the people of the besieged Strip.
Despite the suffocating siege the current Government is suffering from due to existing political disputes, official sources informed PALM Strategic Initiatives Center that it managed to provide the following:
1- 20,000 meals.
2- 991 beds.
3- 2,363 heavy blankets.
4- 2,006 mattresses.
5- 1,640 pillows.
6- 160 covers.
7- 973 thermal bed covers.
8- 198 electrical devices (2 fridges, 12 washing machines, 40 heaters, 138 water heaters, and 6 fans).
Some civil society organizations have worked on protecting the people and providing them with humanitarian aids to help them face the Virus and prevent a humanitarian crisis from happening due to current unemployment in the Strip.
Al-Qassam, Hamas’ Military Wing, also dedicated its equipment to prepare and establish 1,000 rooms for quarantine which were built very urgently for incomers. The rest of the factions announced their preparedness to support the Ministry of Health against the Virus as well.
Despite all the protective measures the Ministry of Health has taken, Yusuf Abul-Reesh, Deputy Minister of Health, announced on Tuesday, March 22nd that two cases have been confirmed to be infected with COVID-19. The two patients had come back from Pakistan where they had been calling for Islam. This led to alarming the MoH and calling out an emergency.
The security forces too took the medical crews’ side and prevented the people in quarantines from exiting and secured their locations. They also offered them the help they need as they took protective measures to protect themselves from the virus. Nevertheless, the MoH announced new 7 infections among the security members who have mixed with the earlier 2 cases. The test results were found positive, but they have not shown any symptoms yet.
All restaurants, mosques and cafes were closed down across the Strip in order to prevent the virus from spreading. In addition, imposing a curfew is now a potential option in the coming few days.
Should the Virus spread, the Gaza Strip will be facing a huge crisis due to the absence and lack of potentials that could keep it under control. The Health sector is suffering from a 45% deficit, and the number of available ventilators is about 120 devices (i.e. the total from all public and private institutions of the health sector).
In addition, the people of Gaza are not well-aware of the dangers of the Virus as they have not experienced anything similar before. This would result in a terrifying disaster as described by Jamie McGoldrick, UN humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, who expressed his worrisome and fear due to the over-crowdedness of the Strip.
Amidst such grave crisis, President Abbas should have lifted the sanctions imposed on the Strip so that the people would manage to face the crisis effectively and efficiently.
In addition, the world, which has supported the occupation’s 13-year siege on the Strip, should follow the footsteps of Turkey and Qatar which are supporting the Palestinians with funds, projects and medical tools to prevent and stop the global virus from harming them.
The Islamic University of Gaza announced that Turkey has given the Ministry of Health the greenlight to use the Turkish Hospital and its equipment to face the virus.
We pray that Allah, subhanah wi ta’ala, would save the Muslims from such pandemic and from any diseases or ailments.