GAZA CITY — Authorities in the Gaza Strip launched a
lottery on Monday aimed at encouraging Palestinians to be vaccinated against
the coronavirus, with winnings of up to $3,000.
اضافة اعلان
The enclave of some two million people has seen an upsurge
in infections of the more contagious Delta variant of
COVID-19 in recent days.
So far, around 135,000 Gazans have had two vaccine jabs. The
territory has received some 336,000 doses but many people remain reluctant to
get inoculated.
As an incentive, the health ministry said those aged 55 and
above who enter the lottery from Wednesday are in with a chance of winning
10,000 shekels (over $3,000).
A daily draw will also see 10 newly vaccinated people win
the equivalent of $200.
The poverty rate in the coastal territory exceeds the 50
percent mark.
Ashraf Al-Qudra, the ministry spokesman, said the names of
the lottery's main three 10,000-shekel winners would be announced in a month's
time.
He told reporters the initiative should encourage Gazans
"to save their lives".
The Hamas authorities also announced mandatory vaccination
for all civil servants, a measure already taken in the occupied West Bank,
which too has seen a surge in infections and where the Palestinian Authority
holds sway.
Of more than 204,700 coronavirus infections officially
recorded in the West Bank, where 2.8 million Palestinians live, around 2,500
people have died.
The Gaza Strip, which has been under an Israeli blockade
since 2007, has seen more than 122,520 infections and 1,125 deaths.
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