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Health MinisterÌýMai Al-KailaÌýhas warned of a fourth wave ofÌýthe coronavirus across the occupied Palestinian territories.

Al-Kaila's warning comes as the number of new Ìýcases and deaths rise across the Strip and the West Bank.

During a weekly cabinet meeting, the minister called for the public to follow Covid-19 safety measures to limit the spread of the virus.

"I invite you, time and time again, to respect social distancing and to wear face masks," he said, according toÌýAsharq Al-Awsat.

Al-Kaila announced that 2,742 new infections and 17 deaths had been recorded across the Palestinian territories in the 24 hours prior to the meeting.

The minister stated 1,406 new cases and sevenÌýdeaths were recorded in the West Bank over the same time period. Al-Kaila also said 1,336 new cases and 10 deaths were recorded in the Gaza Strip.Ìý

Data released by the Palestinian health ministry last weekÌýrevealed that only 655,000 Palestinians in the West Bank and 220,000 in the Gaza Strip have had .Ìý

Palestinian authorities faced delays in being able to secure vaccines, in part due to Israeli policies.

However, they were recently able to secure 2.8 million vaccine dosesÌýthrough a combination of the and vaccine donations from and the , according to the World Health Organisation.

Since the pandemic began, there have been 358,887 Covid infections and 4,012 coronavirus-related deaths in the occupied Palestinian territories, according to aÌýReuters dataÌýtracker.

Reuters also saidÌýthat 1,392,999 doses of the Covid vaccine have been administered so far.ÌýAssuming every person needs twoÌýdoses, this is only enough to have 14.9% of the country's population vaccinated.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh has said 70 vaccination centres are operating in the West Bank.

In late August 2021, Shtayyeh also announced that state employers who remain unvaccinated would be placed on unpaid leave as he rejected the idea of personal choice in the matter "when you are hurting others".

A spokesperson for theÌýhealth ministry in Gaza,ÌýAshrafÌýAl-Qidra,Ìýalso stated that unvaccinated government employees would faceÌýlegal measures.

This is not the first time Al-Kaila has warned of a fourth wave. In late July the minister also expressed her concerns, urging people eligible for the vaccine to take it due to the spread of the contagiousÌý.Ìý