The Palestinian Health Ministry revealed on Monday that the latest figures showed that the number of people infected with the novel coronavirus exceeds that of those who have recovered from it.
It assured however, that the health system was still capable of handling the situation despite the growing number of hospitalized cases.
The government had imposed a partial 7 pm to 5 am lockdown to stem the outbreak.
The Health Ministry confirmed 2,062 new cases and 15 more deaths in the West Bank and Gaza Strip on Monday.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said that the rapid rise in cases in recent weeks “pushed us to take measures that we did not want to return to.”
During a weekly cabinet meeting in Ramallah, he said the lockdown will continue throughout Palestinian territories until the end of the week.
He added that the government was in contact with vaccine manufacturers and the World Health Organization to acquire around two million doses in the first phase.
Palestinian authorities have recorded 98,871 COVID-19 cases, 77,510 recoveries and 823 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.
Meanwhile, Bethlehem is shaping up for a dismal Christmas: most of the inns are closed, the shepherds are likely to be under lockdown and there are few visitors from the east, or anywhere else.
Just 12 months ago, the Palestinian town was celebrating its busiest festive season for two decades, amid a sustained drop in violence and a corresponding surge in the number of pilgrims and tourists.
“Bethlehem is going to celebrate Christmas. And Christmas will not be canceled,” said Mayor Anton Salman, as workers behind him erected a huge Christmas tree in Manger Square.
“This Christmas from Bethlehem there will be a message of hope to the whole world, that the world will recover from this pandemic.”
The newly-appointed Latin Patriarch of Jerusalem, Pierbattista Pizzaballa, on Monday sought to rally the Holy Land faithful, saying that preparations had already started.
His fellow Franciscan friar Father Francesco Patton, the Custodian of the Holy Land, launched the seasonal celebrations on Saturday, presiding over a service in a near-deserted Church of the Nativity.
“This Christmas will be less festive than usual as there will be restrictions, I suppose like any other part of the world,” Pizzaballa said in an interview with a Catholic news service.
“Maybe the civil law will forbid us to celebrate as we want; the pandemic will impose restrictions, but none will stop us from expressing the true meaning of Christmas which is to make an act of love,” he added, according to Reuters.
