Palestinian Authority announces new COVID restrictions as cases surge

• The Israeli prime minister’s office announced this week that the country will send a "symbolic amount" of vaccines to the Palestinian Authority and to several countries that have asked for assistance, Axios' Barak Ravid reported.
• While the Palestinian Authority has started a limited inoculation campaign, with more vaccine shipments on the way, per The New York Times, it remains unclear when the majority of the more than 5 million Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will have access to vaccines.

Details: The West Bank restrictions, set to begin on Sunday, will last at least 12 days, per the official Palestinian news agency WAFA.

• Most schools must close and universities will be required to shift to virtual instruction.
• The restrictions include a ban on most travel between provinces and to and from Jerusalem, an overnight curfew and a ban on most movement Fridays and Saturdays.

• Weddings, parties and funerals will also be prohibited.

By the numbers: The West Bank and Gaza have recorded more than 181,900 COVID-19 cases and 2,025 deaths since the pandemic began, per Johns Hopkins University data.

• The Palestinian Ministry of Health said Saturday that the West Bank reported 910 new cases and five deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the Times.

Go deeper: Blinken asks for Israeli help in facilitating vaccines to Palestinians