A Palestinian worker cleans a wedding hall in Gaza City, June 3, 2020. Hamas authorities began to ease the precautionary measures such as reopening mosques, wedding halls, and public parks. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)
GAZA/RAMALLAH, June 3 (Xinhua) -- Five new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, bringing the total number of cases infected with the deadly virus to 66 cases in the Gaza Strip since March 5, Gaza Health Ministry said.
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said in a short press release that the five new cases infected with the virus are of Palestinians who came back to the Gaza Strip from abroad two weeks ago.
The statement affirmed that no cases had been recorded in the populated areas in the Gaza Strip, adding that all the cases infected with the virus are held in quarantine centers outside the densely populated areas.
It said that 18 cases had recovered and 47 cases are receiving medical care at quarantine centers.
Hamas authorities began recently to ease the precautionary measures such as reopening mosques, wedding halls, and public parks. Schools and universities in the Gaza Strip are still all closed.
According to the official Palestinian news agency (WAFA), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued a presidential decree enabling the renewal of the emergency state for another month, as of June 4.
The agency said that the decree is part of Palestine's efforts to fight the global COVID-19 pandemic.
So far, 630 cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Palestine, of whom five patients died and 531 have recovered. Currently, over 58,000 Palestinians are placed in quarantine.
China has helped Palestine in its fight against COVID-19 outbreak. On April 20, China handed over a batch of medical supplies to Palestine. In mid-April, Palestine received a shipment of medical aid donated by China's Alibaba company.
