14 U.S. tourists stuck in Palestinian hotel due to coronavirus outbreak

Friday, March 6, 2020

At least 40 people have been quarantined against their will in a Palestinian hotel near Bethlehem, in the West Bank, due to the coronavirus outbreak. They include 14 U.S. citizens, as well as about 25 Palestinian guests and employees.

The Angel Hotel, in mostly Christian Beit Jala, just west of the city where Jesus is said to have been born, is where seven people were discovered to have the virus, making them the first known cases in the Palestinian Authority, a matter made public on Thursday morning.

The Americans left the hotel this morning, but the Palestinian Tourism Police brought them back because they could not secure place” in the Bethlehem area, she said. The seven people who are infected or suspected of being infected are inside the hotel. She says that all the hotel guests are in private rooms and that PA health officials are present to make arrangements for transporting them to medical care.

Arja said that the American [guests] are aware of the situation and are in contact with their country’s embassy. Israeli authorities have asked that the Americans be quarantined for 14 days before being admitted to Israel. So far, no samples have been taken from the Americans. We call on health officials to inform us of their plan. The Israeli Defense Ministry ordered an end to crossings from the area until further notice. There are currently 17 known cases of coronavirus in Israel, where harsh measures have been imposed in an effort to stop the spread.

The foreign nationals arriving from several hard-hit countries in Asia and Europe are being denied entry to Israel, while Israelis returning from those nations are immediately being sent to quarantine. So far, it is estimated that close to 100,000 people in Israel are in self-enforced quarantine.

One source at the hotel in Beit Jala told that there was a “state of panic, disorder and fear” because of a lack of information. No one from the the information on social media is not credible and people are worried.

Another person told that on more than one occasion, he had to warn people entering the hotel to stay away. He added that a PA police unit positioned across the street made no effort to stop people from entering the facility.

The PA has begun spreading disinfectant throughout Bethlehem’s Manger Square and has reportedly closed the Church of the Nativity until further notice.

The PA has also designated the Istiqlal University campus in Jericho as a quarantine location, something that has riled local residents, with dozens said to have rioted in the streets, closing off the main entrances to the city just north of the Dead Sea.

Abbas has declared a month-long state of emergency in all the Palestinian territories because of coronavirus.

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