Gaza: Announced tightening measures and imposing closure for days

Gaza: Announced tightening measures and imposing closure for days

The competent government authorities in the Gaza Strip announced, this evening, Thursday, a series of strict measures to confront the spread of the Corona virus, in light of the increase in the number of virus infections.

Iyad Al-Bazam, spokesman for the Ministry of the Interior in Gaza, said that it was decided to take strict measures after studying all options to confront the spread of the virus, including a comprehensive closure as the last solution that is currently being avoided.

And he indicated that it was decided to completely close mosques, schools, universities and kindergartens, as of next Saturday, with the exception of high school and nurseries.

It was also decided to impose a complete curfew on Friday and Saturday a week, starting from Friday, December 11, and until the end of this month.

Al-Bazm indicated that it was decided to impose an evening curfew every day, starting at 6:30 pm instead of 8:00 pm, starting next Saturday, and all shops, facilities and sectors will be closed from 6:00 pm every day.

The spokesman for the Interior Ministry in Gaza announced that weekly popular markets will continue to be banned, preventive measures are taken in regular markets, overcrowding, and safety and preventive measures are maintained.

Al-Bazm indicated that the competent authorities will work to increase control and tighten procedures, to follow up on compliance with preventive measures by service providers in all sectors and facilities.

He stated that it was decided to continue to enforce the decision to prevent gatherings, including the banning of holding weddings and mourning homes.

Al-Bazm called on citizens and service providers in all sectors to fully adhere to the safety and prevention measures and the measures taken, in order to preserve their safety and the safety of society, and that anyone who violates the preventive measures will be held accountable and legal measures taken against him. like he said.

For his part, Ashraf Al-Qidra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that the rate of infection with the Corona virus from the age of 18 to 50 years amounted to 60% of the total infections in the sector, indicating that the continuous increase of infections was caused by markets, weddings and mourning homes, which reached 50% .

He added, "We are facing a steady increase in both contacts and injuries," noting that the Gaza Strip is registering increasing numbers of injuries, and we are facing a new pandemic.

He indicated that the Ministry of Health has made great efforts to increase the clinical capacity of critical cases, indicating that there are about 17,000 contacts of people infected with Coronavirus in Gaza.

"The reality of the Gaza Strip indicates that we are in a high stage of danger," he said.

For his part, the Ministry of Endowments and Religious Affairs announced the suspension of Friday and congregational prayers in all mosques in the governorates of the Gaza Strip, starting from dawn on next Saturday until further notice.

She indicated that the call to prayer will be raised at its known times, and the muezzins are obligated to call "Pray in your homes" after completing the full words of the call to prayer.

An exception will be made for congregational prayer in the mosque for the imam and the muezzin only, to keep the ritual standing in the fewest possible number that is legally acceptable, with an emphasis on the need for them to adhere to preventive measures during the ritual practice.

She called on citizens to perform group prayers at home, and to preserve the calamities in the obligatory prayers, calling on them to adhere to the instructions and procedures issued by the competent authorities in order to preserve their safety, adhere to homes and not go out except for real need.

She emphasized that adherence to the directives issued by the competent authorities is a legitimate duty, and violating them is a legal violation that requires punishment and restraint.