Swedish and Palestinian doctors exchange insights on COVID-19, 20th and 21st April 2020

On the 20th and 21st of April, Forward Thinking continued its process of linking Palestinian health experts with counterparts from Europe to discuss how best to tackle COVID 19.On this occasion the European representative was Dr. Sven Britton, former Professor of Infectious Diseases at Karolinska Institute, Stockholm.Discussions on the 20th of April were with health experts in Gaza. The meeting focused on the measures Gaza should adopt to protect against the threat of COVID-19, and featured updates on the situation in Gaza and Sweden. It enabled an exchange of epidemiological expertise and a discussion of the latest science concerning COVID-19.Gaza now has 17 confirmed positive cases of COVID-19, all of which have been isolated in field hospitals for the duration of their infection and 9 are thought to have recovered from the virus. However, given the highly contagious nature of COVID-19, it should be assumed that it has or will enter the general population of Gaza. Therefore, urgent preparations must be made to strengthen the quarantine procedure and to prepare for a wider outbreak.Sweden has taken a less restrictive approach to handling the pandemic to most other European countries. Primary education centres have stayed open, people are able to shop freely and restaurants are open. The workshop enabled the doctors to discuss Sweden’s unique approach and what lessons could be drawn to apply to Gaza’s situation.The meeting on the 21st took place with representatives from the Palestinian Medical Relief Society and included Doctors from the governorates of Jenin, Nablus, Ramallah and Hebron. The meeting focused on the measures the West Bank should adopt to protect against the threat of COVID-19.There are 335 recorded cases of COVID-19 in the West Bank, although it is likely that there are many more that have gone undetected. As well as local transmission, many cases have been driven by Palestinian workers returning from Israel, where there have been over 14,000 recorded cases.The discussion allowed doctors to discuss how best to take measures to protect against the COVID-19 pandemic, and what lessons could be learnt from Sweden’s response to the virus, which has differed from most of its European neighbours.