Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye (C) speaks during a press conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah, June 20, 2020. Palestine on Saturday declared a new set of restrictions after a new spike in COVID-19 infections in the country. Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced a set of restrictions, including a five-day lockdown of the southern West Bank Hebron district, as its registered cases reached 280. (Photo by Nidal Eshtayeh/Xinhua)
RAMALLAH, June 20 (Xinhua) -- Palestine on Saturday declared a new set of restrictions after a new spike in COVID-19 infections in the country.
Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye announced a set of restrictions, including a five-day lockdown of the southern West Bank Hebron district, as its registered cases reached 280.
After a meeting of the high emergency committee, Ishtaye told reporters in Ramallah that movement in and out of Hebron district will be barred for five days, starting on Saturday night, while the second hardest-hit district of Nablus, in the north of the West Bank, will be put under a 48-hour lockdown.
The measures are aimed at allowing medical teams to contain the outbreak, while allowing the movement of goods and the operation of some factories, in addition to pharmacies and bakeries, while following strict precautionary health protocols.
The new set of restrictions included a ban on all sorts of gatherings and celebrations, such as wedding and graduation parties and wakes all over the West Bank.
At the same time, Ishtaye noted that the public and private facilities and enterprises are required to follow all safety and public health measures, while public servants will be asked not to move from one district to another, but to follow up on their work from their own cities, especially those living in Hebron.
He warned that a full closure will be imposed on every village, refugee camp, neighborhood, or city where cases of coronavirus would be found in order to prevent the spread of the deadly disease, in line with the recommendations of the high emergency committee.
Moreover, he warned that those who are found guilty of breaking their quarantine measures will be held liable.
"There is no longer any room for tolerance in the matter. The safety procedures are very simple: compliance with social distancing orders, the use of a facemask in the market places and all public places. This is a compulsory measure that all citizens have to abide by," he stated.
He added that Palestinian workers shall be forbidden to work in Israel and in Israeli settlements during the pandemic and that local committees will be requested to maintain order in the remote West Bank villages.
On Saturday alone, 108 cases of coronavirus were registered in Palestine, bringing the total up to 979 cases.
