Gaza reports record of 1,061 coronavirus cases

Jerusalem, Mar 31 (efe-epa).- The Gaza Strip on Wednesday reported a record 1,061 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours, while a vaccination rollout slowly continues with a little over 81,000 doses the enclave has received.

Gaza’s positivity rate increased from around 25% over the past few days to more than 29% on Wednesday.

A couple of days ago, Gaza authorities announced that the first cases of the UK variant had been detected in the territory.

Currently, the enclave has nearly 8,000 active cases, including 200 hospital admissions — 121 out of whom are in critical condition, the Gaza health ministry said Wednesday.

In light of the situation, Hamas — which de facto governs the enclave — said it planned on tightening restrictions.

Authorities could impose a weekend lockdown in addition to the nightly that is already in place.

In the meantime, a little over 21,600 people have been inoculated in a slow vaccination campaign in the enclave of nearly two million people. The majority of the territory’s vaccine stock has been donated by the United Arab Emirates and the World Health Organization.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, Gaza has registered over 65,500 cases and 611 deaths. EFE-EPA

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