A Palestinian vendor dresses up a mannequin with a mask outside his clothing shop in Gaza City, on March 7, 2020, as part of an effort by a Palestinian merchant to raise public awareness of COVID-19. Palestine on Saturday announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in Palestine has risen to 19 after three new cases were confirmed. (Photo by Rizek Abdeljawad/Xinhua)

RAMALLAH, March 7  -- Palestine on Saturday announced that the number of COVID-19 cases in Palestine has risen to 19 after three new cases were confirmed.

Ibrahim Melhem, spokesman of the Palestinian government, said in a press statement that the three new cases were confirmed in the West Bank city of Bethlehem who had been in contact with the workers of a hotel in the city, where the virus broke out on Thursday.

The infected people have been put in quarantine in Bethlehem, Melhem added.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, over 500 Palestinians were tested for the coronavirus, and some 350 were put in quarantine. Most of them are Palestinians arriving in the West Bank after traveling abroad.