Gaza’s Health Sector Struggles Amid Israeli Blockade, Coronavirus Pandemic

The Israeli regime’s inhumane practices are taking their toll on the health sector in the Gaza Strip. Hospitals and clinics in the impoverished enclave are facing acute shortages of equipment and supplies amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The Israeli blockade and multiple wars since 2007 have battered the health system in the Gaza Strip.

With rising numbers of coronavirus infections, the tiny coastal sliver is suffering from a severe shortage of medical supplies such as respiratory and intensive care devices.

The Gaza Strip’s health sector is already struggling to provide health services for nearly two million inhabitants.

According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) there are critical gaps in laboratory supplies and other medical equipment, including life-saving ventilators and essential Intensive Care Unit equipment in the Gaza Strip.

All those infected with the new coronavirus in the Gaza Strip have been quarantined and have not mixed with the broader population but people here fear that the blockaded enclave’s healthcare system is no match for the lethal virus.

Palestinian health officials are calling for the full lifting of the Israeli blockade to help fight the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

Concerns are high in Gaza that if the coronavirus spreads in the overpopulated enclave, its hospitals which are already suffering from lack of equipment and medicines due to Israeli blockade, will not be able to deal with the pandemic.

Source: Press TV