COVID-19: See Palm Sunday procession in deserted Jerusalem

A small group of Franciscan monks and Roman Catholic faithful took to the streets of Jerusalem's Christian Quarter in the Old City Sunday to distribute olive branches, after the traditional Palm Sunday procession was cancelled due to restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.

As the number of COVID-19 cases rose, the government announced it had arranged a massive airlift of masks, protective suits and medical supplies from China. Elsewhere in the region, Iran, which is dealing with the worst outbreak in the Mideast, announced plans to allow some businesses to reopen later this month even as the death toll continued to climb.

Palm Sunday celebrations start the Holy Week leading up to Easter. Worshippers in Jerusalem traditionally carry palm fronds and olive branches, and march from the top of the Mount of Olives into the Old City.

While thousands of pilgrims usually participate in the march, this year was limited to a handful of participants. Clerics and faithful went door to door often throwing the branches to Christians looking on from their balconies. "This year, because of the new situation, we are trying to come to all the Christians in our Christian Quarter to bring these branches of olives, the sign of new hope," said the Rev. Sandro Tomasevic, a Catholic clergyman at the Latin Parish of Jerusalem.

In Israel, more than 8,000 people have contracted the coronavirus and 48 have died. The Israeli military began an operation in the hard-hit central city of Bnei Brak, helping to distribute food and medicine. The Israeli Defense Ministry said it had helped arrange two weeks of airlifts for medical equipment from China. The first plane was scheduled to arrive on Monday, carrying over 900,000 surgical masks and half a million protective suits for medical teams.

A man holds an olive branch he received from members of the Latin Patriarchate which they distributed to Christian residents on Palm Sunday, during Holy Week amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Jerusalem's Old City

Women pray iin front of the closed Church of the Holy Sepulchre, a place where Christians believe Jesus Christ was buried, as a palm hangs on the door, in Jerusalem's Old City, Sunday, April 5, 2020. The traditional Palm Sunday procession was cancelled due to restrictions imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus.