Palestinian Authority reports 536 new infections in West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza

The Palestinian Authority Health Ministry says that 536 new cases of the novel coronavirus were recorded today among Palestinians — 460 in the West Bank, 40 in East Jerusalem and 36 in the Gaza Strip. Around 13 percent of tests came back positive, well above the World Health Organization’s 5% threshold for control over the virus.

The number of daily cases among Palestinians hit an all time high of 724 cases per day on Friday across the West Bank, Gaza and East Jerusalem.

Around half of the new infections (255 cases) were detected in the Hebron governorate, which remains the center of the outbreak in the West Bank. In previous stages of the West Bank’s second wave, only a few dozen cases were to be found outside of the Hebron governorate. But now around half of cases are spread elsewhere throughout the West Bank, including over 1,000 in the Ramallah-El Bireh governorate.

— Aaron Boxerman