GAZA, March 12 (Xinhua) -- Palestinians in Gaza Strip are no longer allowed to travel out of the strip in precaution against the spread of coronavirus, according to a statement from the Hamas authorities on Thursday.
Travel from Gaza to Egypt will only be allowed in extremely limited cases, said the statement, while all Palestinians returning to Gaza will be put in quarantine.
The statement said that schools will be shut down till the end of March, urging citizens to avoid large gatherings.
The Palestinian coastal enclave has been so far free of the novel coronavirus, according to Majdy Dhair, director of Preventive Medicine Department of the Ministry of Health.
Since the outbreak of coronavirus in the Middle East few weeks ago, the health authorities in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip took a series of measures to prevent the import of the disease.
