UAE sends expired Covid-19 kits to Gaza

An official source in the Gaza Strip has said that a recent aid convoy sent by the United Arab Emirates to help combat Covid-19 had contained expired items and no useful equipment that might help fight the pandemic.

The Palestinian Ministry of Health official said that the Emirati supplies had “contained very old equipment used in laboratory tests which was not suitable to test citizens for coronavirus, in addition to other devices that will not be of assistance to Covid-19 patients,” reported Al Khaleej Online.

According to the source, the convoy had not contained any ventilators, as claimed by Emirati media, but only tubes used for breathing machines, which would not benefit Gazan hospitals.

The source said that the health ministry had expressed indignation and had sent a letter to the UAE demanding it correct the situation.

The source also said that the Palestinian Ministry of Health would have to bear the high costs and effort required to destroy the expired items.

The Emirati Al-Ain news website had earlier reported that the aid convoy had contained 100 ventilators and 200,000 coronavirus testing kits, items from which Gaza was suffering a severe shortage.

Al-Ain had also indicated that the convoy contained over 14 tonnes of medical supplies to support healthcare workers in the Gaza Strip.