Palestinians fight to survive in Gaza’s COVID-19 unit

GAZA CITY: Slumped in a hospital bed, his face obscured by an oxygen mask in an intensive care unit for coronavirus patients in the Gaza Strip, Hussein Al Hajj said he wanted to talk.

“Vaccinations are essential, but I’m going to have to survive the virus before geting vaccinated,” the 71-year-old retired Palestinian teacher said through strained breaths.

In Gaza, a Palestinian territory under strict Israeli blockade since 2007, the pandemic has been defined by contrast.

Through its early months roughly a year ago, the enclave’s Hamas rulers largely succeeded in limiting significant viral spread.

Access to Gaza was already restricted through Israeli and Egyptian controlled crossings, and Hamas imposed strict quarantines on everyone who sought entry.

But in August the first cases were recorded outside quarantine centres, raising fears of catastrophe given Gaza’s weak health infrastructure.

Now, as Israel broadly re-opens thanks to a world-leading vaccination effort, Gaza’s vulnerable health system is overwhelmed.

Hajj was admited to a Turkish funded hospital, built in 2017 on land where polluted stagnant water oten pools, which was previously used as a training ground for Hamas’s armed wing.

The white-haired Hajj was among a group of mostly elderly, male patients curled up on beds and intubated under the care of an overstretched medical team.

“My wife and I contracted corona. She stayed in quarantine at home, but I have lung problems, so first I was brought to the hospital, then here,” he said in a whisper, referring to the makeshit ICU.

“It’s a question of life and death. Things can deteriorate at any moment.”

Health authorities in Gaza say the situation turned more dire following the emergence last month of the more contagious British coronavirus variant, which fuelled a surge in cases among younger Palestinians.

“The situation is critical,” said Rami Al Abadelah, director of infections diseases at Gaza’s health ministry.