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Gaza to Close Crossing Points Following Jump in Covid-19 Cases

Gaza to Close Crossing Points Following Jump in Covid-19 Cases

(Bloomberg) -- The Gaza Strip is closing its main border crossings with Egypt and Israel -- its gateways to the outside world -- until the end of June after a sharp increase in Covid-19 cases.

Twenty-nine Palestinians who recently entered the Gaza Strip via those crossings have been infected with the coronavirus, the director general of the Hamas-run Ministry of Health Yousef Abu al-Reesh said at a news briefing.

They have been quarantined in special centers, but if they have spread the virus to others, then a curfew will be imposed on the territory during the Eid al-Fitr holiday beginning on Saturday, he said.

The new cases bring the total count in Gaza to 49.

©2020 Bloomberg L.P.