Abd al-Salam Sabah, Director General of Hospitals at the Ministry of Health in Gaza, announced today, Monday, a temporary closure of outpatient clinics in all hospitals for a period of 14 days.
And Sabah stated in radio statements, that it was decided to stop the scheduled operations and to maintain the emergency operations, to employ all capabilities in confronting the Corona epidemic.
And he indicated that the health system´s capabilities remain limited and fragile, in light of the siege on the Gaza Strip and the scarcity of resources at the Ministry of Health.
He pointed out that it was decided to prevent the presence of escorts except for necessity, and to specify places of entry and exit from hospitals, in addition to conducting a PCR examination for patients admitted to hospitals for those whose stay extended more than 48 hours.
Sabah pointed out that there is an urgent increase in the rate of injuries, which affects hospital services in terms of increasing the number of patients that are received in the Ministry´s hospitals.
The Director General of Hospitals at the Ministry of Health indicated that the main factor in treating patients is the amount of oxygen, which seemed to be at its maximum, indicating that the ministry is working on a plan to provide other sites for services, especially oxygen.
Sabah said that controlling the increase in the number of infected people is done through the citizen´s awareness and follow-up of safety and prevention measures, indicating that practical decisions and measures have been taken to maintain basic services within hospitals that have nothing to do with the Coronavirus.
