RAMALLAH, Friday, December 11, 2020 (WAFA) – Four Palestinian governorates Thursday night went into a weeklong lockdown to rein in the spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The Tulkarm, Nablus, Bethlehem and Hebron governorates, which have a population of some 1.6 million, entered the weeklong lockdown pursuant to Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh’s recent set of decisions to curb the pandemic outbreak.

This came as the other Palestinian governorates entered the second week of weekend and partial nighttime lockdown.

Under the general lockdown, travel is prohibited within and between the four governorates for a week. As for the other governorates, travel is prohibited from 7:00 PM to 6:00 AM on weekdays in and between all governorates and in weekends.

All stores are closed, except for pharmacies, bakeries and grocery stores, while the transportation of agricultural products, essential services and medicines is excluded from the travel ban.

Meanwhile, the Interior Ministry spokesperson Ghassan Nimer said that any Palestinian or business owner who breaks the lockdown will be penalized with a fine of 1,000 Jordanian Dinars ($1,400) or one-year imprisonment or with both.

According to the latest coronavirus data, the confirmed cases in the occupied territories (West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza) reached 119,414 since the pandemic outbreak in early March (latest update on Thursday).

Out of the 119,414 cases, 78,062 are recorded in the West Bank, 26,817 in the Gaza Strip and 14,535 in East Jerusalem.

Recoveries have totaled 91,898 and the death toll reached 1008, leaving a total of 26,508 active cases.

Recoveries account for 76.96 percent of total cases, active cases for 22.2 percent and the death toll accounts for 0.84 percent.

K.F.