COVID-19 Threatens the Gaza Strip
Medical staff in the Gaza Strip face a critical deficit of supplies, including face masks. (Pixabay)
As the first cases of COVID-19 reach Gaza, inhabitants are realizing that they are more at risk than people in many other parts of the world. When the COVID-19 crisis unfolded in February, according to the Real News, Gazans joked that life under quarantine would not be any different from their daily life under siege for the past 12 years. However, in recent weeks, the reality of life in a pandemic has become all too apparent.
The population in Gaza is more vulnerable to the virus due to its decade-long siege. Gaza, considered the third most densely populated place in the world, has the highest poverty rate in the region, which as forced large families to live together in close proximity.
The non-profit organization B’Tealem reports that the healthcare infrastructure in Gaza could not support its population even before the spread of COVID-19. Shortages of medical supplies, equipment, training and doctors make it impossible for Gaza to adequately respond to the crisis. The head of WHO in Gaza, Abdelnasser Soboh, has confirmed that there are just 62 ventilators in the region serving 2 million people, according to the Guardian.
The government in Gaza has responded by shutting down institutions, offices and even mosques. Economically unstable with shortages of electricity and water supply, the region already faces high unemployment rates that will be exacerbated by the new social distancing measures keeping people home.
The lack of education about the pandemic in the Gaza Strip also creates issues when social distancing measures are ignored “In general, there is a massive percentage of Gazans who are still normalizing the pandemic and are not feeling its seriousness and danger,” said Khaled Al Saidi, a Gazan studying Business Administration at American University of Beirut. “Some of the people [in Gaza] are saying that because we have lived through three harsh wars, and because of how we are used to severe circumstances, the virus won’t become an issue for us.” According to Al Saidi, youth in Gaza have been stepping up by educating friends and family about social distancing and encouraging others to stay at home.
Organizations in and outside Gaza recognize the lack of a strong governmental response to the pandemic and are helping to fill in the gap. One of these initiatives, started by an activist group in the West Bank called Babyfist, responded to the deficit of face masks in the region. They fundraised via Instagram and other social media outlets and have produced at least 50,000 face masks approved by the World Health Organization in their factory in Gaza.
Many organizations also called on Israel to respond to the crisis, believing that Gaza’s vulnerability stems from Israel’s blockade against it. On March 29, presidential candidate Bernie Sanders tweeted that “the Israeli government must also lift its restrictions on humanitarian aid.” Failure of Gaza to be able to control the domestic spread of COVID-19 could result in its spread to Israel as well.