Fifty to 100 new cases of the new COVID-19 omicron variant, EG.5, have been found across the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, according to a Sunday report by the Palestinian Health Ministry.
Kamal al-Shakhra, director-general of primary health care at the Health Ministry, explained that this new surge of infections likely coincides with the summer holidays, which bring increased travel and social gathering.
“Some of the registered cases were admitted to hospitals and left after receiving the necessary treatment,” al-Shakhra said.
He continued that the variant seems to spread rapidly and that the elderly and those with chronic health conditions are most at risk. Its symptoms include fever, sore throat, runny nose, and sore muscles.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced the spread of the EG.5 variant on August 9, calling it a “variant of interest” and saying that it “may cause a rise in case incidence and become dominant in some countries or even globally.”
The Palestinian Health Ministry is closely following the WHO’s updates on the variant, according to Osama al-Najjar, director of laboratories and blood banks.