Lebanon Registers Highest Number of COVID Cases in 5 Weeks

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon recorded 294 coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported Tuesday, the highest number of infections in five weeks as health experts warn of an impending rise in cases from the Delta variant.

The new cases were discovered among 19,655 tests, resulting in a 1.7 percent two-week average positivity rate, a 0.1 percent increase since Monday. Out of Tuesday's cases, 31 were among passengers arriving from abroad.

The total number of cases now sits at 545,965 alongside 7,865 deaths since the virus was first detected in the country in February 2020.

According to the report, 97 patients are in hospital with the virus, with 44 in intensive care and 13 on ventilators as of Monday.

The report did not detail the number of coronavirus vaccinations that took place, but recorded an additional 23,651 people signed up to receive the jab, with 28 percent of the population eligible now registered.

There are believed to be 46 active cases of the Delta variant in Lebanon, since the caretaker Health Minister announced July 2 that the variant had been discovered among travelers from Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Iraq. Tuesday's report did not include any figures relating to new Delta variant infections.

The last time Lebanon registered more coronavirus cases was May 28 with 298 infections. The presence of the Delta variant is a cause for concern as it is believed to be twice as contagious as the original version of the virus. However, vaccines remain as effective against hospitalization and death from the Delta variant as previous mutations, and health authorities are urging all those to take up vaccines as it is the safest way to protect against the disease.

In recent weeks, health experts in Lebanon have cautioned over the relaxation of virus safety regulations and the poor monitoring of a track-and-trace system at the border. Furthermore, there has been an increase in the number of positive cases among travelers which risks creating a new wave, just as Lebanon was enjoying a relative plateau in the spread of the disease.