Gaza reports 90 new virus infections

GAZA CITY, Palestine

The Palestinian Health Ministry confirmed 90 additional infections from the coronavirus pandemic in the Gaza Strip on Saturday.

A ministry statement said the territory’s tally rose to 2,313 confirmed cases, including 17 fatalities.

“The number of active cases has risen to 1,810 since March,” the statement said, adding that 486 patients have recovered from the virus.

Reeling under a crippling Israeli blockade since 2007, the Gaza Strip suffers a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, in addition to daily electric outages.

The Hamas-led government imposed a lockdown in Gaza on Aug. 24 to help stem the virus outbreak in the blockaded enclave, although the authorities have recently eased the restrictions in some neighborhoods in the territory.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara