From the Liveblog of
Wednesday, July 15, 2020
Palestinians record nearly 6,000 active virus cases
The Palestinian Authority records a total of 8,153 coronavirus infections, the vast majority in the last month, as new outbreaks appear across the West Bank.
The PA health ministry says it has confirmed 234 new cases of the novel coronavirus in the West Bank today. An additional 185 cases were identified in Israeli-controlled East Jerusalem, which the PA counts in its official statistics.
While Hebron governorate still has the vast majority of active cases, only 50 new cases were recorded there on Wednesday. Another 181 new cases were identified in Ramallah-alBireh governorate, where the refugee camps in the surrounding area have seen outbreaks, according to numbers released by PA government spokesperson Ibrahim Milhim.
Even as cases mount, however, restaurant owners take to the streets of Ramallah on Wednesday to protest the lockdown, possibly encouraged by the PA’s loosening of restrictions after similar protests by merchants in Hebron and Ramallah.
The PA is scheduled to remain in lockdown for the next two weeks, with pharmacies, bakeries and “small shops” allowed to operate.
The total number of active cases in the PA is 5,936, with 43 deaths in the West Bank since the start of the pandemic.
— Aaron Boxerman
The Times of Israel Community.