Lebanon’s Hospitals on The Brink as COVID-19 Cases Top 45,657

By Staff, Agencies

A drastic rise in COVID-19 infections has pushed Lebanon's hospitals to the edge, with experts warning they will soon be unable to cope as the country buckles under a succession of devastating crises.

Lebanon confirmed 1,175 new coronavirus cases Monday and eight new deaths, raising the total number of recorded infections to 45,657.

Only 15 of the new cases detected in the past 24 hours were from among inbound travelers and 6,703 tests were carried out on the local population. Local test positivity rates continued to spike, with 20.5 percent coming back positive.

A total of 414 people has officially died from coronavirus complications since the virus was detected on February 21.

Lebanon’s weeklong localized lockdown went into effect Sunday morning, with the local authorities ordering a total of 111 towns and villages across the country where infections rates were high to be sealed off until Monday, October 12.

The localities, all of them classified as “red zones” on Lebanon’s new COVID-19 tracking map, will see a ban on all social and religious gatherings. The areas in question have all been identified as having more than eight cases per 100,000 people over the past 14 days.

Lebanon's healthcare system was already struggling before several hospitals were badly damaged by a massive explosion at the port of Beirut in early August.

Now medical supplies are dwindling due to a shortage of dollars due to an ongoing financial crisis, doctors are emigrating in droves, and fears are growing that subsidies on medicines might soon be lifted.

"At the moment, COVID-19 in Lebanon is not under control," said Dr. Firass Abiad, who runs Beirut's Rafik Hariri University hospital, the largest coronavirus facility in the country. "We are seeing a high positivity rate relative to testing."

Lebanon is facing its worst crisis since its 1975-1990 civil war. Its banking system has been paralyzed since last year, its currency has crashed by 80%, and banks have severely restricted withdrawals. The financial meltdown was compounded by the explosion on August 4 that wrecked a swathe of Beirut, killing nearly 200 people and damaging several hospitals.

The government has for years owed hospitals millions of dollars in arrears. Their unpaid bills are mounting. Doctors told Reuters that patients at some hospitals were struggling to pay bills as low as 50,000 Lebanese pounds - $6.25 at Monday's street rate.

The COVID-19 spike began in June, after the airport reopened. But the Beirut Port explosion made matters worse as thousands of people swarmed the devastated streets and hospitals, abandoning coronavirus precautions.