The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that the majority of coronavirus cases in the West Bank were caused by the highly infectious Delta variant. "The Delta variant is widely spread with over  70 percent of the diagnosed cases were due to the highly contagious strain,” ministry official in the West Bank, Wesam Sbeihat, told the official Palestine Voice Radio.

He confirmed d a surge in the number of COVID-19 cases in the Palestinian territories in recent weeks. He added that the registered cases don’t reflect the real epidemiological situation in the Palestinian territories. On Sunday, Minister of Health Mai al-Kaila said in the West Bank city of Ramallah that she expects a social spread of the Delta variant to coincide with the start of the new school year in the Palestinian territories, according to news reports. Palestinian health authorities have further stated 349,108 virus cases in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, including 3,891 deaths.

Last week, the Palestinian government threatened to take “measures” against those refusing to take the COVID-19 vaccines.

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