Three New Deaths, 141 Virus Cases As Lebanon Prepares for Lockdown

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon confirmed 141 new coronavirus cases and three new deaths Tuesday, raising the total number to 4,020, as the country prepares for another lockdown period this coming weekend.

Of the new cases, 133 were found among the local population and eight among travelers. There are now a total of 54 deaths registered due to coronavirus complications. Cases were detected among 8,036 PCR tests administered over the last 24 hours to both locals and travelers.

Head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Firass Abiad said, “The number of daily tests achieved should be commended.”

In a series of tweets, Abiad said, “The number of tests done has almost quadrupled in the past week.”

“Tuesdays usually witnesses higher numbers of new COVID-19 cases. Laboratories that were working at low capacity over the weekend receive a high load on Monday, and the results are reported on Tuesday,” he explained.

Cabinet Tuesday approved the extension of general mobilization until Aug. 30. The partial lockdown will run from July 30 to Aug. 3. There will be a two-day break in the lockdown before it comes into play again between Aug. 6 and Aug.10.

Awash with coronavirus infections, Lebanon Thursday will begin another phase of tightened containment measures, with banks, parks, pubs, nightclubs, markets and indoor pools forced to close.

The partial lockdown falls over the Muslim al-Adha holiday, and all worshippers will be prevented from taking part in religious gatherings. Restaurants and coffee shops will be restricted to operating at a maximum of 50 percent capacity.

The new surge of cases has been called a “dangerous and risky turn” by Health Minister Hamad Hasan.

The number of hospitalizations for coronavirus rose by a shocking 60 percent between July 12 and 26, while the number of people in intensive care also increased by 65 percent during the same period.