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Palestine’s Health Ministry: Actual COVID-19 Cases Are Three Times the Announced Number

A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
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Palestine’s Health Ministry: Actual COVID-19 Cases Are Three Times the Announced Number

A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)
A sign for a restaurant in Bethlehem using the term “Corona” to attract attention (AFP)

Palestine recorded 653 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths during the past 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry.

The highest number of new infections were reported in Gaza Strip, amounting to 310, according to a statement by Palestinian Health Minister Mai Alkaila.

The minister also said that 40 people are in the Intensive Care Unit, including nine on ventilators, stressing that the number of actual COVID-19 cases in Palestine is three times the numbers that are being announced.

Speaking to the Voice of Palestine official radio station, she said the infection spreading in Palestine, especially in Nablus and Salfit governorates in the West Bank.

The minister attributed this surge in cases to negligence, saying that people are not abiding by the preventive measures and continue to hold events and wedding celebrations.

“Palestine is heading towards a more difficult period if the situation remains unchanged,” she warned.

Kaila pointed out that the COVID-19 vaccine being developed by Pfizer, pending approval by the World Health Organization, will be obtained by Palestine through the COVAX Facility that provides vaccines to low-income countries, such as Palestine, which is a member of the organization.

According to the official figures published by the Health Ministry, the total number of infections has hit 74, 350 since March, including 65,561 recoveries and 634 deaths.

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Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
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Tunisians Vote in Election, with Main Rival to Saied in Prison

A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
A voter casts her ballot at a polling station during the presidential election in Tunis, Tunisia October 6, 2024. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

Tunisians began voting on Sunday in an election in which President Kais Saied is seeking a second term, with his main rival suddenly jailed last month and the other candidate heading a minor political party.
Sunday's election pits Saied against two rivals: his former ally turned critic, Chaab Party leader Zouhair Maghzaoui, and Ayachi Zammel, who had been seen as posing a big threat to Saied until he was jailed last month.
Senior figures from the biggest parties, which largely oppose Saied, have been imprisoned on various charges over the past year and those parties have not publicly backed any of the three candidates on Sunday's ballot. Other opponents have been barred from running.
Polls close at 6 p.m. (1700 GMT) and results are expected in the next two days. Political tensions have risen since an electoral commission named by Saied disqualified three prominent candidates last month, amid protests by opposition and civil society groups. Lawmakers loyal to Saied then approved a law last week stripping the administrative court of authority over election disputes. This Court is widely seen as the country's last independent judicial body, after Saied dissolved the Supreme Judicial Council and dismissed dozens of judges in 2022.
Saied, elected in 2019, seized most powers in 2021 when he dissolved the elected parliament and rewrote the constitution, a move the opposition described as a coup.