The total number of patients visits or the medical consultations declined in 2020 by 34.0%, as the total was 5.7 million (face to face) compared with 8.7 million medical consultations in 2019. While in 2021, it increased by 5 percent to reach about 6.1 million (face to face), and by 14.3 percent once considering the telemedicine consultation in both years: 6.1 million in 2020 and 7 million in 2021, which is 20 percent less in 2021 than 2019. During the first year of the pandemic in 2020, a total of 325,811 telemedicine calls were received in all five fields except Lebanon; with an increase of 160 percent, it had been recorded that in 2021, a total of 844,518 telemedicine consultations were implemented of which 767,904 were in Gaza, Syria (46,379), Jordan (28,211), West Bank (2,024). UNRWA recognizes telemedicine both as an efficient solution for safe patient care during the pandemic as well as a good alternative consultation method to avoid unnecessary patient visits to Health Centers. Table 2.10: UNRWA Health Infrastructure by Region, End of 2021302 Region/Health Infrastructure Jordan Lebanon West Bank Syria Gaza Strip Total Number of Primary Health Care 25 Facilities (PHCF) 27 23 43 22 140 Number of Health Staff 671 299 431 659 964 3,024 Number of Annual Patient Visits 1,350,000 595,780 809,460 894,950 3,350,000 7,000,190 Number of Hospitalized Patients 2,470 21,500 15,860 25,550 14,500 79,880 UNRWA health centre, Damascus, 2019 (©UNRWA) 302 62 UNRWA, ‘Statistics Bulletin’ (UNRWA, 2021) <https://www.unrwa.org/what-we-do/unrwa-statistics-bulletin>; UNRWA, UNRWA in Figures (n 233).