The Hamas-run government in the Gaza Strip begins building a pair of facilities to house individuals who need to be quarantined due to the coronavirus outbreak.
There have yet to be any COVID-19 cases in the coastal enclave, but authorities over the past week have begun taking steps to prepare for the possibility that the virus could reach the crowded Strip.
The new facilities, one in the enclave’s north and another in the south, will contain 500 rooms for individuals requiring quarantine.
Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, who had not been seen publicly in recent weeks, was at the southern facility himself today monitoring the progress of the construction.
Yesterday, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which runs hospitals and clinics in Gaza, announced that it was beginning to separate those with respiratory issues from other patients in order to prevent exposing those who might have contracted coronavirus to others.
Palestinian municipal workers and officials from the Hamas-run health ministry stand at the construction site of a facility to house coronavirus patients, in Rafah in the southern Gaza strip, March 17, 2020. (Said Khatib/AFP)
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From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
