Youssef Abu Al-Rish, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, said today, Wednesday, that the increasing number of injuries in the Gaza Strip, whether total or that reach the emergency departments, with symptoms and prove their injury or those that are admitted to the care departments, They unequivocally show that the Corona epidemic is in an outbreak.
Abu Al-Rish stated during a press conference that, in light of the current capabilities and circumstances of the sector, it is not possible to control and contain the epidemic, indicating that it is only possible to strive to discourage the spread of the virus.
He pointed out that the closure at the beginning of the pandemic was to break the first sharpness of the spread of the epidemic and to rearrange the papers and align plans according to developments, noting that the current health status is no longer the same.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Gaza said: "The closure is not a magic or sustainable solution to confront the pandemic, and we may resort to it at some point, and every day we work to delay the closure is for the benefit of society, especially since the government system cannot cover all groups of society."
Abu Al-Rish added, "We will resort to closure in the event of the inability to absorb in intensive care, the stress of the health system and the human staff, and the low quality of the services provided."
He continued: "We are rapidly approaching the moment of the necessity of a comprehensive closure due to the Coronavirus, and that will only be if we reach the exhaustion of the health system, and then there must be a comprehensive closure, and what can be kept away from it is adherence to safety and preventive measures.
Abu Al-Reesh indicated that 78% of the care beds for those infected with Coronavirus have been occupied, and their condition is described as critical, indicating that 50% of the clinical capacity allocated to caring for the infected is completely closed.
The Undersecretary of the Ministry of Health in Gaza stated that some patients need 60 liters of oxygen per minute, and this constitutes a pressure on the capacity of hospitals, indicating that the ministry is seeking to increase the amounts of oxygen for the European Gaza Hospital to deal with larger cases.
Abu Al-Rish said: "Providing oxygen has become the biggest challenge to providing health care to Corona patients."
He indicated that urgent adaptation measures have been taken to boost oxygen in the European Hospital to 2,700 liters per minute, and efforts are continuing to increase production capacity.
Abu Al-Rish reiterated that the entire government system is moving at an accelerated and aggressive steps towards imposing a comprehensive closure unless there is a commitment by citizens to preventive measures.
He added, "This stage requires a greater commitment from the citizen and the strengthening of social responsibility," noting that his ministry is making exceptional and great efforts to counter this.
