Rays of Hope in Coronavirus Outbreak

"The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them." Ps. 34:7

Health system professionals have been responding to the outbreak of the coronavirus with stringent measures to prevent the spread of the disease in Israel. The procedures being taken in the country during the past month as the virus spreads across Europe and elsewhere do not differ much from the cautionary moves being taken by Western countries. There are now over 98,000 coronavirus cases globally and more than 3,300 people have died, according to a Reuters tally on Friday 6 March 2020. The coronavirus has produced one positive result for the time being: the security arena in the Middle East is relatively quiet. While the outbreak is not the only reason behind this, there was exceptional calm last week. Iran is one of the countries being hardest hit by the virus; apparently, visitors to the holy city of Qom were the main source of its spread. On Thur. 5 March 2020, there was a report about the first cases of people contracting the coronavirus in a district governed by the Palestinian Authority. The city of Bethlehem was put in a quarantine Thursday under an order from Israel's Defense Minister Naftali Bennett after seven COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the area. In the following hours, nine more patients were confirmed as infected, raising the overall count to 16. The Gaza Strip, which is more isolated is less exposed to the virus, but once it strikes there, it will be difficult to stop its spread. Good news emerges, however: More than half of those who contracted the virus have now recovered. It’s retreating in China, where it first emerged, and in nearby South Korea. China over the weekend reported just 99 new cases, the first time it has had only a double-digit increase since 20 Jan 2020. Overall, China now counts 22,177 patients currently in treatment, while it has released 55,404. (VFI News)

"Pray without ceasing." 1 Thes. 5:17