The United Kingdom has granted Palestine $100,000 to help combat the novel coronavirus as the number of those affected by the disease continues to climb, reported Wafa news agency.

The money would go to the World Health Organisation’s operations in the occupied Palestinian territories “to accelerate its response to coronavirus in the Occupied Palestinian Territories to ensure early detection and case management of suspected Covid19 cases,” said UK Consulate General in Jerusalem.

It comes as the Palestinian Health Ministry announced a state of emergency last week in the occupied West Bank cities of Bethlehem and Jericho over suspected coronavirus cases.

The number of confirmed cases had rose to 29 in Palestine on Tuesday, and all of the confirmed cases were reportedly being held in quarantine, except for one who was reportedly being held in a hospital after his health deteriorated, according to Mondoweiss.

Yesterday, the World Health Organisation labelled the outbreak a pandemic, as there are now over 118,000 cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the virus, in 114 countries around the world.

Across the West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza, 2,900 Palestinians were being held in self-quarantine – six of them in Jerusalem, and 605 people in Gaza after they returned from performing Umrah in Saudi Arabia.

Meanwhile, Palestinian and Jordanian authorities have been considering the closure of the King Hussein (Allenby) Bridge, which spans the Jordan River and connects the occupied West Bank with Jordan.

The Times of Israel reported that while the border was still open to Palestinians traveling to and from the West Bank and East Jerusalem, the Jordanian government had decided to close the border to any non-Palestinians.

Schools, universities, cafes, gyms and sports facilities are closed indefinitely with religious and sporting events suspended or postponed in Ramallah.