Lebanon Reports 16 More COVID-19 Deaths, 1,450 New Cases

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 1,450 new coronavirus cases on Thursday and 16 more deaths, according to the daily statistics published by the Health Ministry.

Of the new cases, eight were detected among incoming travelers. There is now a total of 67,029 coronavirus cases recorded in Lebanon since the virus was first detected on February 21.

A total of 552 people died from coronavirus complications.

More than 13,900 PCR tests were administered across the country within the last 24 hours, according to the Health Ministry report, with a positivity rate of 11.2 percent in the last 14 days.

The daily tally has consistently remained over 1,000 over the last two weeks despite the government imposing localized lockdowns on 169 villages and towns last week.

Head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Dr. Firass Abiad warned in a tweet Wednesday that “Hospitals are at 90% occupancy, even counting the 62 ICU beds added lately.”

Laxity toward coronavirus prevention measures and localized lockdowns continue among people, as many prioritize their economic reality and livelihood over their health.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan has publicly admitted that localized lockdowns have so far proven unsuccessful in preventing the spread of the virus, stating that it would now be necessary to expand such measures to larger cities.