Lebanon Registers One-Day Record Number of 6,154 COVID-19 Cases, 44 Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered two record-breaking coronavirus figures Friday with 6,154 cases and 44 deaths in the past 24 hours, a surge expected by medical experts.

Among the newly recorded cases, only 21 were detected among incoming travelers arriving in Lebanon, according to the Health Ministry report, with the total number of cases since the virus was detected in late February rising to 243,286.

This is the fourth consecutive day Lebanon registers record deaths, with 41 coronavirus related fatalities reported Thursday. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,825.

A total of 21,854 tests have been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 18.4 percent.

The Health Ministry said 1,865 patients were in hospital for COVID-19,with 681 in ICUs and 213 on mechanical ventilation.

Hospitals across the country continued to struggle with efficiently facing the virus as they ran out of space to take in COVID-19 patients, and reported they had full ICUs and emergency departments.

The American University of Beirut in a statement Friday urged Lebanese people to adhere to utmost precautionary measures, stressing that their health care workers were being overworked.

“Our health care workers are overwhelmed and must be protected so they continue to provide the care needed for patients,” the statement said.

AUB, like many other hospitals, said that its regular coronavirus unit had reached maximum capacity, as had its emergency room.

“We are unable to find beds for even the most critical patients,” the hospital said. “Help us fight the pandemic and overcome the catastrophe we are facing.”

As hospitals fill up and oxygen tanks grow scarce for those who have resorted to creating makeshift hospitals in their own homes, Dr. Firass Abiad, one of Lebanon’s leading voices in facing the pandemic, said this meant more patients would now be treated in hospitals.

"It will be very dangerous if hospitals, who are already overwhelmed, should also run out of medical supplies. It is important that distributors receive the promised subsidy,” he said in a series of tweets.

Lebanon has been setting new record daily cases since NYE with an unprecedented surge observed in the New Year. Many medical experts had warned of this surge as people largely ignored virus prevention measures and mixed up with big crowds during the holiday season, when authorities had also lifted many restrictions.

The country’s only hope remains the coronavirus vaccine, as Parliament finally passed a law Friday to authorize its emergency use.

Lebanon is set to receive 2.1 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in mid-February with an initial shipment of 60,000 jabs.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab and President Michel Aoun also signed a decree to transfer funds for the procurement of around 2.7 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine from the COVAX platform.

Meanwhile, the country is in its second day of a full and stringent lockdown with a 24-hour curfew in place that is set to last for 11 days in total but can be extended. Health experts say a total lockdown of at least three weeks is needed for cases to decline.

Abiad, in a series of tweets Friday, also commended the "high compliance" with lockdown.

"Clearly, easing the measures should not be rushed. Lessons have to be learned,” he added.

“The coming weeks will be tough. Yet, the compliance with the lockdown was encouraging," Abiad tweeted, adding: "The lockdown cannot fail."