Another batch of COVID-19 vaccines arrive in West Bank

RAMALLAH, March 31 (Xinhua) -- The Palestinian government on Wednesday received 25,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, according to a cabinet minister.

The batch of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine is the first batch of 2 million vaccines purchased by the government from vaccine manufacturers, Health Minister Mai al-Kaila said.

The vaccination campaign against coronavirus is proceeding at a positive pace, especially after Palestine received a batch of the Sinopharm vaccine donated by China, al-Kaila said.

So far, 78,379 people have received COVID-19 vaccines, including 8,687 people who received the second dose of the vaccines, according to al-Kaila.

The health minister also said the COVID-19 curve in the Palestinian territories is currently bending downward, citing a slight decrease in the number of COVID-19 deaths as well as the rate of hospital bed occupancy.

On Wednesday, Palestine recorded 2,288 new COVID-19 cases and 13 deaths, according to the Health Ministry.

Among the new 2,288 cases, 1,227 cases were recorded in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and 1,061 others in the besieged Gaza Strip, the ministry said.