Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Mahmoud Abbas on Monday extended the state of emergency which was imposed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
According to the PA’s official Wafa news agency, Abbas issued a decree extending the state of emergency for 30 more days starting Tuesday.
Abbas initially announced a month-long state of emergency after the first seven cases of coronavirus were identified in Bethlehem last year. He has since extended that state of emergency several times.
The PA recorded 11 new deaths from COVID-19 in the last 24 hours. In addition, 586 new cases were recorded, and 768 patients have recovered, according to Wafa.
The PA’s “minister of health”, Mai Al-Kaila, said in her daily report on coronavirus that seven people have died in Judea and Samaria and four in eastern Jerusalem. No deaths were reported in the Gaza Strip.
Judea and Samaria had 266 new cases and 314 recoveries, eastern Jerusalem had 105 new cases and 140 recoveries, while Gaza had 215 new cases and 314 recoveries.
Al-Kaila said 54 coronavirus patients are being hospitalized in intensive care units, while 17 are on respirators.
The PA recently said it would purchase about 100,000 doses of the Russian Sputnik V vaccine.
It has also signed agreements with four companies to supply COVID-19 vaccines.
Israel has also agreed to transfer vaccines to the PA, raising the ire of the family of Hadar Goldin, the IDF soldier whose body has been held by Hamas in Gaza since 2014.