The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip revealed today, Monday, the details of the latest developments in the epidemiological situation of the Coronavirus in the Strip, amid warnings of the possibility of the epidemic spreading further in the winter season, which affects the health system and constitutes great pressure on it .
This came in a press conference held by the ministry at Al-Shifa Medical Complex, with the participation of those in charge of the epidemiological situation of the virus.
Magdy Dahir, Director of Preventive Medicine and Deputy Director General of Health Care at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that the ministry was able for a period of 7 months to delay the entry of the virus into the sector after its outbreak around the world, indicating that this period was used to prepare to confront its entry into Gaza, train cadres, provide supplies and equip the laboratory. Central to disease identification and response.
Dhaheir indicated that the focus was initially placed on isolating those coming to the Gaza Strip so that they would not be the cause of entering the virus, pointing out that with the entry of the virus on the twenty-fourth of last August, the plans previously developed to start imposing a comprehensive closure on the Strip were implemented. With the aim of studying the epidemiological situation, drawing a tree of the spread of the epidemic, identifying its foci, sources, contacts, and taking appropriate measures in the field to break the chain of focus of spread.
He indicated that, later, the health sector system was put on the ladder of work to empty the European hospital to allocate it to cases of injured people, and to start organizing the sorting of respiratory disease departments in hospitals, redeploying health staff according to needs, and operating the emergency system in the rest of the hospitals.
The Director of Preventive Medicine explained that the goal was to continue providing other urgent services to citizens, which should have been provided, indicating that in the first three weeks success was achieved in limiting the spread of the disease and reducing the curve, reaching the past two weeks in which practical measures were taken to mitigate About the lives of citizens, while ensuring that we continue to monitor the epidemic.
Duhair said, "We support the citizens´ need to run their lives, restore the need for education, daily life, work, and open various institutions and facilities for life. We gradually walked with our eye on the epidemiological curve, and our other eye was on the needs and needs of the population, and we gradually began to return to normal life and opened mosques, schools, markets, cafes, etc." , Provided that this openness is conditional on adherence to safety and prevention measures by the citizens, so that we will remain in control of dampening the curve and that the curve does not rise again.
He pointed out that the citizens ’lack of commitment in recent days to safety and prevention measures, indifference and indifference led to an increase in the spread of the epidemic and a rise in the curve, indicating that this led to an increase in cases of infection.
Duhair indicated that the Ministry of Health has developed a school and specific plan based on scientific foundations to monitor the epidemiological situation through two systems, the first in the traffic signal system and depends on the societal spread of the virus in neighborhoods, cities and governorates, as the sector was distributed into 94 neighborhoods and geographical regions, in which all are determined Injuries according to the computerized epidemiological map and the classification of red, green and yellow areas.
He pointed out that limited neighborhoods in the Gaza and North governorates were classified as red, and today the spread is greater due to the outbreak of the epidemic in more than 14 neighborhoods in the various governorates of the Strip, indicating that this requires field measures to be taken due to the limited movement in them.
He indicated that the second system used to assess the epidemiological situation: It is an early warning system that depends on the health system system for cases that require admission to the hospital from critical and needing care or moderate ones.
He pointed out that the health system currently has a capacity of 500 beds in European and Friendship Hospitals to deal with Corona patients, indicating that this system determines the time period in which the health services and the infrastructure of the Ministry can absorb the cases expected to be recorded, and it is a system that gives an alert that the capacity is exhausted at 60 A day after which control may be lost, and a bell can be given for 40 days to tighten procedures, and a more severe warning for 20 days after which there will be no capacity to absorb all the cases that are registered and the family will be full and this will necessitate a comprehensive closure of the sector to break the chain of spread throughout the sector, and this is done daily Update data and information and take a decision in this regard.
Duhair indicated that currently 30% or more of the absorptive capacity of the Ministry of Health is being depleted, indicating that there are 160 cases in the European Gaza Hospital in need of health services, 12 of which are critical and are at real risk and many of them can be lost, including 3 young people. Those who did not have other factors or diseases, which confirms that the virus does not exclude anyone and affects all ages from childhood to adulthood, he said.
He added, "The advanced age groups and those with chronic diseases that suppress the immune system are more dangerous, but all groups are also vulnerable to complications from this disease and this risk, and the registration of 3 cases of young men is an important bell that we must take into account."
Dahir stressed the need for citizens to adhere to safety and prevention measures, without that the chain of spread will not be broken, and this curve will continue to increase, indicating that the citizen´s commitment to the procedures, and if he is infected, will not be a source of infection for others, and thus the spread of the epidemic can be worked on.
The medical official called on citizens to intensify their efforts by adhering to preventive measures, noting that the Ministry of Health appreciates the daily needs of citizens in order to obtain his day´s sustenance, but that must be subject to adherence to the procedures, which is not observed now in the streets.
Daheir warned that the winter season will be a risk factor, especially with the spread of other diseases such as influenza, which will increase the number of infected people, which will pose a real danger.
For his part, Rami Al-Abadala, Director of Infection Control at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that the ministry is working according to the latest protocols and systems adopted in the world to fight and confront the virus, and that every infection is determined through these systems, taking specific measures and setting the necessary standards to prevent the spread of the epidemic.
Al-Abadala indicated that the classification of areas as red, green, or yellow, is related to the number of injured according to the population of the neighborhood, population density and area, indicating that there are specific criteria that are set to tighten procedures in red areas than others.
He pointed out that the ministry seeks to relieve the citizens and is keen on the progress of the educational and life process, and therefore work is being done to reduce the procedures, and the last thing that is being considered is imposing a complete closure in the event of the inability to control the spread of the epidemic.
For his part, Ashraf Al Qidra, spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza, said that the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip greatly affects the health system.
Al-Qudra pointed out that 47% of medicines, 33% of medical consumables, and 55% of laboratory supplies were depleted, indicating that despite this, the Ministry had increased the capacity of the central laboratory’s work since the beginning of the pandemic.
He pointed out that the capabilities of the central laboratory are limited and its work depends on providing operational materials for testing, noting that the laboratory materials for examining Covid 19 are nearly enough for a few days and part of them may run out in the coming hours.
He indicated that the ministry had a clear plan to deal with the epidemic with a budget of $ 59 million, indicating that efforts were intensified locally, regionally and internationally to achieve a better response to confront the virus, but Gaza did very little.
"We are only investing from limited and depleted resources, and we are working to ensure the continued provision of services, and to maximize efforts to confront the virus, to secure the necessary service for the infected," he said.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Health in Gaza indicated that the coming days will be the worst, indicating that 20% of the number of injured people in the Gaza Strip is considered to be in a moderate to serious condition, which is a pressure on the health system, and it is expected that it will increase in the future. For the resilience of this system. like he said.
He called on citizens to adhere to preventive measures in order to protect themselves and others, not to be reckless and complacent, and to share responsibilities.
