Hamas imposes lockdown after four new coronavirus cases emerge in Gaza

The Islamic Hamas movement has imposed a 48-hour lockdown in the Gaza Strip after recording four new cases in the besieged coastal enclave.

"The four cases comprise three males and one female," Salama Marouf from the Hamas-run information office told reporters on Monday, adding the infected persons are from the same family in the al-Mughazi refugee camp.

Marouf clarified that the lockdown will cover all Gaza's districts starting from Monday night, including the closure of all official and educational institutions.

"The 48-hour lockdown includes the closure of mosques, wedding halls, markets, and sports clubs," he said.

Meanwhile, Ashraf al-Qedra, spokesman of the Hamas-run Ministry of Health, told reporters that specialized medical teams are working on detecting the source of the new infections and tracing those who contacted them.

Since the outbreak hit the Palestinian territories on March 5, the Hamas-run Ministry of Health recorded 109 Covid-19 cases, all of them arrived in Gaza through crossing points with Israel and Egypt.

It said that 72 patients have recovered and 37 received medical care at quarantine centres outside the populated areas in Gaza, home of more than 2 million Palestinians.

--IANS

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