GAZA, April 11 (Xinhua) -- Gaza authorities on Saturday declared that 1,000 new quarantine units for patients and suspected cases of the novel coronavirus in the coastal enclave are ready to be put into use.

According to a press statement by the Islamic Hamas movement, the local authorities completed the construction of quarantine units able to accommodate 1,000 people, half of which were built in the southern town of Rafah and the other half in the northern part of Gaza.

"Workers had worked day and night within two weeks until they finished the construction of the 1,000 quarantine units, which have been well-prepared and are ready to receive cases infected with the virus," the statement said.

The quarantine will be operated by the Ministry of Health, the movement noted.

So far, there are 268 cases of coronavirus in Palestine, 13 of them are in the Gaza Strip.