The governor of Bethlehem announced, on Saturday, June 27, the temporary closure of the Palestinian city to counter the increase in the number of contaminations by the new coronavirus in the occupied West Bank. The closure will be effective Monday, from 6 am, for a period of forty-eight hours, said Kamel Homaid.
This closure comes after those of the cities of Hebron and Nablus, last week, respectively for five days and forty-eight hours. These two Palestinian cities, as well as Bethlehem, recently recorded a significant increase in infections with the new coronavirus.
On Saturday morning, the Palestinian health ministry announced 67 new infections across the West Bank, including 33 in the Bethlehem region. As in Israel, where contamination is on the rise, the West Bank has seen a recent upsurge in cases.
Bethlehem already cordoned off in March
Bethlehem was closed for the first time in early March. The first cases of contamination in the West Bank had been recorded in this city, where Christ was born according to Christian tradition.
In addition to the closure of the city, the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mohammed Shtayyeh, in coordination with Israel, which has occupied the West Bank since 1967, declared a state of emergency, closing schools and prohibiting all non-essential activities and displacement.
According to figures from the Palestinian Ministry of Health, 1,552 people tested positive for the new coronavirus in the West Bank, two of whom died. In the Gaza Strip, a Palestinian enclave under an Israeli blockade, 72 people tested positive, including one person who died.
