©WHO / Noor- Tanya HabjouqaAs COVID-19 spread across the occupied Palestinian territory, the Hugo Chavez Hospital was turned into the COVID-19 treatment and isolation centre for patients from Ramallah District.
Dr Bassel Bawatneh, the hospital’s Acting Director, found himself both serving as a medical professional and performing social care to help fill the gap in hospital staff to carry out all the necessary duties.In March 2021, Dr Bawatneh found his retired Arabic language teacher, Mohammed Mhanna, critically ill in one of the wards.
He visited Mohammed’s bedside regularly, providing friendship, comfort and kindness until Mohammed succumbed to the disease.