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)
It's not (only) about you.
Supporting The Times of Israel isn’t a transaction for an online service, like subscribing to Netflix. The ToI Community is for people like you who care about a common good: ensuring that balanced, responsible coverage of Israel continues to be available to millions across the world, for free.
Sure, we'll remove all ads from your page and you'll unlock access to some excellent Community-only content. But your support gives you something more profound than that: the pride of joining something that really matters.
Join the Times of Israel Community
Join our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, March 17, 2020
