Ref: 128/2020
Date: 06 December 2020
Time: 16:30 GMT
On Sunday, 06 December 2020, the Gaza Strip Central Laboratory suspended running Covid-19 tests as testing materials ran out. This development coincides with the outbreak of the coronavirus in the Gaza Strip, as to date, a total of 25,121 persons were infected with Covid-19, 139 died, 14,391 recovered, and 10,591 are active.
Director-General of the Technical Support Units at the Ministry of Health (MOH), Dr. Ayman al-Halabi, informed PCHR’s researcher that the central laboratory’s suspension of COVID-19 tests is because testing materials ran out of stock, especially Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing materials that totally ran out; in addition to materials used for DNA extraction of coronavirus which suffice for one day only. According to Dr. al-Halabi, the MOH received these materials from the World Health Organization (WHO), international donor organizations and sometimes, the Ministry of Finance purchased them from local companies, but these materials are currently unavailable in the local market. Dr. al-Halabi pointed out that the central laboratory’s suspension of Covid-19 testing would cause MOH’s efforts in monitoring the epidemiological map of the coronavirus in the Gaza Strip to fail. Additionally, it will impact people suspected to have contracted Covid-19 or infected patients at hospitals, who need periodic testing to make sure their health conditions are improving.
The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) warns of the serious consequences of the central laboratory’s suspension of Covid-19 testing and recalls that the Gaza Strip health facilities are already in a fragile state due to the 14-year long Israeli and the consequences of the Palestinian internal division’s and political conflicts. These factors, combined, caused the weakness of the Gaza healthcare system and a chronic shortage of basic medicines and medical devices and specialized medical personnel, making the healthcare system unable to meet the Gaza Strip’s basic health needs in regular times, let alone in the midst of a pandemic.
According to the MOH, its central warehouses have acute and serious shortage of the essential drugs list; as the number of drug categories at zero stock has reached 244 out of 516, with a 47.2% deficit rate; while the number of categories that suffice for less than 3 months has reached 69 (13.3%). Moreover, the central warehouses have acute and serious shortage in the essential medical supplies list; as the number of categories at zero stock has reached 278 out of 853, with a 32.5% deficit rate, and the number of categories that sufficie for less than 3 months has reached 69 (8%).
It is noteworthy that Israeli authorities continue to impose strict restrictions for the 14th consecutive years on the entry of goods classified as “dual-use materials.” The Israeli authorities officially list 62 items as “dual-use items” which include hundreds of goods and basic materials. The items on the “dual-use goods” list are essential to the life of the population, so imposing restrictions on them contribute to the deterioration of the healthcare system, the deterioration of economic conditions, and the infrastructure.
Fearing a health sector collapse in the Gaza Strip, PCHR stresses that Israel holds the primary responsibility for providing medical supplies to the Gaza Strip in accordance with Articles 55 and 56 of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949. PCHR also calls upon the international community and the WHO to practice pressure on Israel and compel it to comply with its obligations, and to allow the entry of medical supplies and equipment necessary for coronavirus testing.