Palestine sees collective recovery from COVID-19: health minister

By Agencies Published: Jun 14, 2021 08:37 PM

Palestinian children take part in a karate class at Rafah Youth Club in the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, on June 13, 2021. Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila announced on Saturday that Palestine has recently witnessed a collective recovery from COVID-19. Photo: Xinhua

Palestinian Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila announced on Saturday that Palestine has recently witnessed a collective recovery from COVID-19.

"The West Bank and the Gaza Strip witnessed a decline in the (daily) positive cases and fatalities," al-Kaila told state radio Voice of Palestine.

"It is necessary to keep following the health protocol to combat coronavirus," she added.

Meanwhile, al-Kaila said about 30 percent of the Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip have been vaccinated.

"We need to vaccinate 70 percent of the population to reach herd immunity," the minister noted.

"The Palestinian government signed contracts to purchase 4 million (COVID-19) doses ... in order to prepare for opening all sectors by the end of August," she said.

The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Saturday 183 new COVID-19 cases, including 10 in the West Bank and 173 in the Gaza Strip, while the death toll from the infectious disease rose by two to 3,798.