Fact Check-COVID-19 cases have been increasing in Israel and Palestine in August – Reuters

Claims that COVID-19 cases have not increased in Palestine in August are false.

In a tweet from Aug. 10, former Republican Representative Ron Paul alleged that Jewish Israelis are heavily vaccinated, while Palestinians are not. Covid cases are increasing for Jewish Israelis, but not for Palestinians ( here, archive.ph/wip/g6m5X).

Since then, the graph in the tweets (also visible on the Ron Paul Liberty Report from that day, around timestamp 26:05 youtu.be/eKY9GhwVS_o?t=1617 ) showing authentic data from Israel and Palestine but presented without further context (as it also crops out the recent august increase in cases) has been circulating on its own as well ( here, here, here).

The graph in question comes from Our World in Data, found when searching the graph headline (Daily new confirmed COVID-19 cases per million people) and noticing the same logo ( bit.ly/2VSHXD6 ).

The X axis in the graph in Ron Pauls clip was adjusted to only show data from May 24, 2021 to July 27, 2021. It also uses an interval of 7-day rolling average cases, not new cases per day ( bit.ly/3jWG2oZ ).

In this short time frame, the data shows an increase in cases for Israel but not Palestine.

In August, cases went up in both countries (see bit.ly/3g7j0L1 ).

A Reuters coronavirus tracker infographic for the Palestinian territories also registers an uptick in August ( here, archived here: here).

Palestine registered its highest number of new cases per million people on Aug. 12 (154.47) since May 28 (151.72), per Our World In Data figures.

Cutting off the dates before to the segment Paul focuses on means the graph also doesnt show trends over the course of the pandemic (compare bit.ly/3xM7xq8 ). As presented, it also does not show the uptick of cases in Palestine in August.

Testing capabilities in Palestine are also lower compared to Israel. In a situation report ( bit.ly/3m9lxYY ), the World Health Organization said: In the Gaza Strip, COVID-19 testing is rather low, with an average of 598 tests per day conducted over the past month (16 July 12 August). However, positivity is still rather high and continues to increase, reaching 27% on 12 August- the highest reported positivity rate since late May.

Though it is not true that Palestinians are not vaccinated against COVID-19, there is a lower vaccination rate compared to Israel.

As of Aug. 14, 2021 the Palestinian territories have administered at least 1,053,252 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, thats enough to have vaccinated about 11.2% of the countrys population ( here ).

Israel has administered at least 12,062,285 doses of COVID vaccines so far. Assuming every person needs 2 doses, thats enough to have vaccinated about 66.6% of the countrys population ( here ).

As reported by Reuters ( here ), the Delta variant is the fastest, fittest and most formidable version of the coronavirus that causes COVID-19, and it is changing assumptions about the disease even as nations loosen restrictions and open their economies.

Vaccine protection remains strong against severe disease and hospitalizations caused by any version of the coronavirus, and those most at risk are still the unvaccinated, according to interviews with 10 leading COVID-19 experts.

Misleading. COVID-19 cases have increased in Israel and Palestine in August; a graphic with authentic data, but based on selecting misleading dates, fails to show the recent uptick in Palestine.

This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .

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Fact Check-COVID-19 cases have been increasing in Israel and Palestine in August - Reuters