Ramallah, Aug 26 (IANS): Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has declared a 30-day state of emergency to combat the Covid-19 pandemic in the West Bank.
The state of emergency was first declared in March 2020 after the discovery of the first coronavirus cases in the Palestinian territories, reports Xinhua news agency.
It was last extended or re-declared in January this year, local media reported.
Under the state of emergency, the government is empowered to take any step it deems necessary to fight the pandemic.
As of Friday morning, Palestine has reported a total of 619,519 Covid-19 cases and 5,396 deaths since the pandemic began.