Palestinian Authority records new daily high in coronavirus cases

Coronavirus cases among Palestinians have reached a new daily high of 612 infections, the Palestinian Authority health ministry says.

East Jerusalem, which is rapidly becoming a new center of the coronavirus outbreak among Palestinians, recorded 312 new cases, according to the PA Health Ministry, though there are concerns there may be vast underreporting of infections.

Due to inadequate testing, last week saw 41 percent of tests conducted in East Jerusalem come back positive, according to reports in the Hebrew media. The Jerusalem municipality has sought to increase testing by opening a new station in the East Jerusalem neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah run by the IDF Home Front Command.

Another 140 new cases are recorded in the Hebron governorate, which still has the highest number of active cases in the West Bank.

Most concerning is the geographical spread of new coronavirus cases. Previous stages of the second wave in the West Bank saw the vast majority of cases centered in the Hebron governorate, with most other areas registering only single-digit daily increases.

Over the past week, however, other governorates have begun to report dozens of daily cases. Today, the Nablus governorate registers 57 and the Bethlehem governorate 45, while Ramallah and the Al-Bireh governorate record 40.

— Aaron Boxerman