Live Update 
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 17, 2020
From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 17, 2020
Gaza facing ‘health disaster’ as 41% of COVID-19 tests come back positive
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleThe Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry reports 1,015 new coronavirus infections in the past 24 hours in the coastal enclave. Forty-one percent of tests come back positive.
Gaza, already under a curfew from 6 p.m. every day, will head into full lockdown on Friday and Saturday before returning to the nighttime restrictions during the workweek. Local reports indicate that the nightly curfew is well-enforced by Hamas police, but there is little social distancing during the day in the densely packed Strip.
“The next two weeks will be a period of severe danger,” says Hamas deputy health minister Yusuf Abu Rish.
A Hamas health official who spoke to The Times of Israel yesterday described the situation in Gaza as “a health disaster.”
— Aaron Boxerman
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