Lebanon Records 163 COVID-19 Cases, Four Related Deaths in the Last 24 Hours

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon recorded 163 coronavirus cases and four deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Friday, as a Pfizer vaccine "marathon" took place for over 50s across the country.

The cases were found after carrying out 16,459 tests, resulting in an average two-week positivity rate of 1.3 percent. The report also detailed that 85 infected patients were in hospital, with 45 in intensive care and 14 on ventilators.

The aggregate number of cases recorded is 544,165 alongside a total of 7,839 deaths since the virus was first detected in the country in February 2020. Out of the new cases, 10 were identified among travelers arriving to Lebanon.

The latest figures from Friday’s Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine "marathon" for residents aged 50 upward registered on the Impact platform detailed that some 7,000 doses had been given out at centers in various Lebanese governorates.

The Pfizer vaccine event will also take place Saturday, and the ministry urged the target group of people to book an appointment using the website www.grabajab.com, designated by the ministry to organize bookings for the "marathon."

Friday’s Health Ministry report also showed that 16,212 first-dose coronavirus vaccines had been administered, raising the total to 858,495 individuals, or 18 percent of eligible people, who have now had their first shot since the vaccination process began five months ago. A further 6,719 second dose coronavirus jabs were also administered, taking the total of fully inoculated people to 420,473 or 8.8 percent.

Lebanon has been recording a sharp decline in the spread of the virus over the last few months, after an uncontrolled outbreak blighted the health sector and caused stringent lockdown measures at the start of the year.

But health officials are warning of the need to boost the vaccine program to reach more age groups over the coming months, as experts fear for the potential of a new coronavirus wave come autumn.