East Jerusalem medical community braces for spike in coronavirus cases
East Jerusalem hospitals are preparing for the potential of overcrowding if the mitigation efforts to restrict coronavirus patients fails to lower those affected.
The coronavirus has once again brought to the forefront the problems facing East Jerusalem's 350,000 residents, who are caught between Israeli apathy and the inability of the Palestinian government to provide assistance, as Israel is preventing the Palestinian government from engaging.
Abdel Qader Husseini, the president of the East Jerusalem Hospitals Network, told Al-Monitor that Jerusalem’s hospitals will face a huge problem if the number of coronavirus patients increases. “Only two hospitals in Jerusalem are equipped to deal with coronavirus patients," he said. "The Makassed Hospital, which has 22 beds isolated for coronavirus cases, and the Saint Joseph Hospital, which closed its surgery department and converted 28 beds for coronavirus cases.”
