Lebanon Records Highest Number of Daily COVID-19 Cases since May

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon recorded 517 new coronavirus cases and two deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Wednesday, the highest daily infections in eight weeks.

The positive cases were detected from 20,104 tests, resulting in a two-week positivity rate of 2.9 percent, up from 2.7 percent a day. Eighteen of the cases were from travelers arriving into Lebanon.

Wednesday’s numbers add to a total of 548,927 cases and 7,881 deaths in Lebanon since the virus was first discovered in February last year.

The last time Lebanon recorded a higher number of daily cases was May 18 with 600 infections, when numbers were beginning to drop after strict spring lockdowns.

As of Tuesday, 123 individuals were in hospital with the virus, 14 more than registered Tuesday; with 57 patients in intensive care, and 13 on ventilators.

A further 9,757 first dose vaccines were administered, bringing the total to 1,118,218 people, or 23.4 percent of the eligible population, to have received a first jab. There were also 23,602 people who received their second dose vaccines, taking the total of fully vaccinated people to 635,310, or 13.3 percent of eligible population.

Lebanon’s health authorities have been urging the public to take up the vaccine as the Delta variant takes hold across the community and has been responsible for the recent surge in cases.