BETHLEHEM, Monday, June 29, 2020 (WAFA) – The southern West Bank district of Bethlehem started today a two-day lockdown in a government effort to prevent the spread of coronavirus disease, announced Bethlehem governor, Kamel Hmeid.

He said that this closure comes in accordance with the state of emergency declared by President Mahmoud Abbas and upon the approval of Prime Minister Muhammad Shtayyeh, noting that it also comes in the interest of and safety of the public after the unprecedented increase in the number of COVID-19 cases and the current outbreak of pandemic in order for the medical staff to be able to fight and control the disease.

The lockdown, which started at 6:00 a.m. local time and will continue for 48 hours, will affect all activities and movement in the governorate as well as all official and private institutions, except health-related ones, all shops except bakeries and pharmacies, and movement of people in and out of the governorate as well as movement of people inside the city, towns and villages except for humanitarian cases.

Tariq al-Haj, Bethlehem police director, told WAFA that checkpoints were set up inside the district and at its entrances in order to prevent citizens from going in or out unless for certain cases.

The first coronavirus cases were reported in Bethlehem in early March and the district was placed under a strict lockdown for over two months before opening up again in late May when the number of cases dropped to zero.

K.T./M.K.