Lebanon registered 1,660 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths Saturday, as the country entered its second lockdown to stem an alarming spread of the illness which has infected a total of 104,267 people since February.
Of the new cases, only six were found among travelers from abroad. There have now been a total of 806 deaths due to virus complications.
Head of Rafik Hariri Universtiy Hospital Dr. Firass Abiad warned Saturday that the past week’s death toll was the highest since the beginning of the pandemic, which will further overwhelm Lebanon's already fragile health sector.
“As [Lebanon] starts its second lockdown, the 21 Covid deaths reported yesterday bring the total number of Covid deaths in the last 5 days to 73. This week, [Lebanon] will register the highest weekly death rate secondary to #Covid19 since the beginning of the pandemic,” Abiad tweeted.
He said that the hospital has struggled in the past week to accept transfer patients from other hospitals due to full occupancy.
“In today’s morning report, 6 Covid cases, 4 in critical condition, are admitted but still in the Emergency department, waiting for a vacant bed,” Abiad said.
A total of 14,085 PCR tests have been administered in the last 24 hours. The average positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 14.7 percent, according to the Health Ministry’s report. Currently, 310 coronavirus patients are in critical condition.
Lebanon’s total registered coronavirus cases topped 100,000 this week. Daily cases have consistently exceeded the 1,000 mark over the last month.
Authorities hope that the upcoming lockdown will slow the spread of the virus and relieve weary hospitals and medical staff who are under immense pressure as ICUs reach capacity.
This article has been adapted from its original source.
