Gaza hotels become quarantine centres

In the statement, which was sent to mass media, Spokesman for the Ministry of Interior Iyad Al-Bozom said that the owners of the Commodore and Blue Beach hotels handed them over to the government so they could be used as quarantine centres.

Al-Bozom said that the High Emergency Committee Against Coronavirus decided to use them for elderly patients.

He also pointed out that these are two out of 19 quarantine centres distributed across the besieged Gaza Strip, which has been under a strict Israeli siege for 14 years.

On Saturday evening authorities in Gaza announced that the first two people had tested positive for coronavirus.

Authorities said that they were tested at the Rafah Crossing before entering into Gaza and immediately put into quarantine. All the returnees who accompanied them were also put in quarantine.

A UN official has warned that Gaza it is vulnerable to a possible disaster if coronavirus spreads there because of the lack of medical equipment and medicine due to the Israeli siege.