While we seem to be over the worst of the pandemic the same can't be said of many other countries. The situation in Gaza, for instance, is deteriorating with infections on the rise and already way beyond the previous peak in December. Previously, the blockade on Gaza had one positive effect in that the isolation made it harder for the virus to enter the enclave, while the Hamas government operated a strict 3 week quarantine programme for any visitors, followed by a strict lockdown when cases began to creep up.
The lockdown was lifted in February with schools, mosques and crowded markets all returning to normal. A few weeks later the border with Egypt was reopened for the first time in years, as part of a goodwill gesture for the upcoming elections. This has resulted in countless lorries going back and forth, checked for weapons but nothing else. In addition, thousands of Gazans have taken the opportunity to visit Egypt, to see relatives and friends, shop, or go for short breaks. They've been allowed to return home, waved through with only a temperature test, no isolation necessary.
Meanwhile the vaccination programme has been slow to get underway. Gaza has so far received vaccines from the UAE, Covax, and from the Palestine Authority in the West Bank - they need millions more - but only around a quarter of the vaccines received have been used.
The last opinion poll showed that 43% of Palestinians said they and their families were not willing to take the vaccine, and it's only in the last few days that Hamas have begun a concerted campaign to counter this scepticism, including videos showing coronavirus patients in hospitals, patients being resuscitated and images from the funerals of the 642 people who died from the virus in the Strip. Previously, Hamas had seemed to be more concerned with scoring political points by blaming the PA, rightly or wrongly, for not sending them their fair share of the vaccines they've received.
Now schools and universities have closed again and other restrictions put in place but the government is reluctant to order another total lockdown because of the effect it would have on the already dire economic situation. Officials are pinning their hopes on a study conducted in early February by Hamas health authorities which estimated that around 40% of Gazans had coronavirus antibodies, a figure far higher than the number of recorded cases. If two-fifths of Gazans have already had coronavirus, that would mean the death rate in Gaza is extremely low - far less than 1%.
This gives some officials cause for optimism, arguing that the high rate of apparently minor infections could lead to widespread herd immunity. Health officials in the enclave attributed this immunity to its relatively young population — just 2.7% of Gazans are over the age of 65.
Let us hope the officials are proved right and that, combined with the reimposed restrictions, the impending disaster can be averted.
