RAMALLAH, Monday, April 6, 2020 (WAFA) – Fifteen new coronavirus cases were confirmed this morning in the West Bank, raising the total in Palestine to 252, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.

Ministry spokesman Kamal Shakhra told the daily briefing that 11 cases are from two families in the Biddo, Qatanna and Jdeireh villages, west of Jerusalem, raising the possibility of declaring these areas as infected villages, which means they will be subjected to strict restriction on movement.

Interior Ministry spokesman Ghassan Nimr said Biddo, Qatanna and Jdeireh villages had 99 cases alone, which were mainly caused by social visits. He said Bethlehem district had 52 cases and Ramallah district 58 cases, followed by 13 in the Hebron district, and the rest in other West Bank areas.

Of the total, 40 are children under 18 years of age and 23 above 60. The rest are between the age of 18 and 59.

Shakhra said four corona patients in Bethlehem and Ramallah were admitted to the ICU following complications on their health but that their situation is stable.

Twelve cases are in the Gaza Strip, where six are reported to have recovered, and the rest are in the West Bank, where only 18 have recovered and one death.

(Story updated on 12:10 pm Palestine time with new figure. Previous figure was nine.)

M.K.