Ramallah, Oct 1 (IANS): Palestine has extended the state of emergency to prevent the spread of Covid-19, mainly the highly-transmissible Delta variant.

In a decree issued by President Mahmoud Abbas, the state of emergency was extended effective immediately so as to give the government enough power to combat the spread of Covid, reports Xinhua news agency.

The state of emergency was first issued in March last year after the discovery of the first cases of coronavirus in the Palestinian territories and has been extended or re-declared every month since then.

Extending the state of emergency in Palestine came after the Ministry of Health recorded 18 fatalities and 1,461 new COVID-19 cases in the West Bank and Gaza Strip in the last 24 hours.

The virus has so far claimed 4,366 lives in the Palestinian territories since March 2020.

The Ministry also said that over 1,404,892 people have received their first jab of the Covid-19 vaccine in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, of whom 752,412 received both doses.