Kindly find attached our report on Caritas Jerusalem interventions in Gaza, as well as the related proposal: Contribute towards health and emergency intervention to Covid-19 positive patients and make referral to MOH hospitals or isolation centers in the Gaza strip.
Gaza’s fragile health care system even before the pandemic, with its low stocks of essential medications, contaminated drinkable water, unreliable electrical system, deep poverty and very high unemployment rate puts Gaza’s population in a more vulnerable situation due to malnutrition, poorly controlled non-communicable diseases, dense living and housing conditions and an elderly population without access to proper nursing care.
The number of people who are affected by COVID-19 in Gaza is increasing on a daily basis: we have been following with concern the official numbers and the deteriorating conditions. Just to highlight the extent of it: on Monday the 2nd of November, 2020 the official numbers were 7002 infected; 2549 active; 4419 recovered and 34 deaths. Today, Wednesday the 16th of December, 2020 the official numbers are 30,146 infected; 8,851 active; 21,075 recovered and 220 deaths.
Having into consideration that these numbers are taken from an average of 1,500 people being tested due to lack of testing kits – which is actually less than 1% of the total population in Gaza, so it is very obvious that the actual numbers are much higher and this is only the “tip of the iceberg.”
The MoH in Gaza has requested from Caritas Jerusalem to support them in visiting the houses of COVID-19 positive patients (letter attached in Arabic). Details in the proposal respond to this request: Briefly, the MoH depends on us to identify which COVID-19 patients need hospitalization and which can be treated at home, and which COVID infected people can self-isolate at home and which must be transferred to government quarantine centers.
