RAMALLAH, Wednesday, March 24, 2021 (WAFA) – The Health Ministry today warned that the situation of the Covid-19 epidemic in the occupied territories remains serious.

Speaking in an interview with Voice of Palestine, Spokesman for the Health Ministry Kamal al-Shakhra said that 206 Covid-19 patients were still receiving treatment in intensive care units, including 58 who are still connected to respirators.

He added that the share of tests returning a positive result, known as the positive rate, ranges between 16 and 22 percent, while it was ranging between 20 and 30 percent in the past few weeks.

He noted that the rate of hospital bed occupancy for Covid-19 patients remain high, as it already reached 100 percent in some hospitals and medical centers.

Meanwhile, Advisor to the Health Ministry in Gaza, Fathi Abu Warda, cautioned that the pandemic would reach catastrophic proportions among Gaza population mainly due to the lack of compliance with all prevention measures, including social distancing and wearing face masks.

“If a more serious outbreak of this pandemic occurs in the Gaza Strip, the situation would become catastrophic given Gaza's high population density, among the highest in the world,” he added as 514 coronavirus infections and two deaths were recorded in the last day in Gaza.

In order to reach a safe and stable situation, he pointed, at least 70 percent of the Gaza populatin should be inoculated against the pandemic.

K.F.