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Workers wearing protective gear spray disinfectant as a precaution against the coronavirus, at the main market in Gaza City, Thursday, March 19, 2020. Image Credit: AP

Gaza City: Authorities in Gaza confirmed the first two cases of novel coronavirus on Sunday, identifying the individuals as Palestinians who had travelled to Pakistan and were held in quarantine on their return.

Gaza’s health ministry said in a statement that “two citizens tested positive (for COVID-19), after they returned from Pakistan,” but stressed that neither person left the quarantine facility near the Egyptian border and did not mix with the wider population.