Lebanon Records 1,842 COVID-19 Cases, 22 Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 1,842 new coronavirus cases and 22 deaths Wednesday, as head of the parliamentary health committee said he expects a rise in cases in two weeks’ time because people are not adhering to preventive measures.

Among the new cases, 15 were from incoming travelers from abroad, bringing the total number of cases to 131,256 since Feb. 21 when the disease was first detected. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,055.

A total of 14,006 PCR tests had been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 15.4 percent.

MP Assem Araji said that the two-week lockdown which was implemented on Nov. 14 has not yielded a decrease in cases, but it “helped decrease the spread of the virus and postponed the increase in cases for two weeks.”

He warned that severe cases will increase as the weather gets colder and people’s immunities become weaker.

There are currently 368 people in a critical condition, according to the Health Ministry.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan had said Tuesday that abiding by virus preventive measures is a crucial strategy to follow until Lebanon receives a vaccine.