Palestine extends state of emergency for 30 days

Ramallah, Feb 2 (IANS) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has extended the state of emergency for 30 more days aimed at combating the spread of Covid-19 in the state territories.The official Palestinian news agency WAFA said in a statement issued on Monday that the extension will start from Tuesday.Prime Minister Mohammed Ishtaye told the weekly meeting of the cabinet in Ramallah that his government expects to receive 50,000 coronavirus vaccines within two weeks, reports Xinhua news agency."The government will receive the first batch of 50,000 vaccines from several sources, the most important of which is through the International COVAX Facility," Ishtaye said.COVAX is a WHO-backed global scheme for distributing the coronavirus vaccines.The Prime Ministersaid vaccination will start "in the middle of February in all the Palestinian territories" and the government "will provide a share of the vaccines to the Gaza Strip".Earlier this week, Israel transferred a batch of vaccines to the Palestinian Authority, which will be used to inoculate health workers. The move came after UN officials and human rights groups urged Israel to provide vaccines to the Palestinians.On Monday, the Palestinian Ministry of Health added 586 new infections and 11 deaths in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem.
--IANS ksk/