Lebanon Confirms 796 New Coronavirus Cases, 14 Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon confirmed 796 more COVID-19 cases and 14 deaths Monday as 63 towns and villages were put under lockdown to curb the spread of the virus.

The latest additions brought the total number of cases to 72,183 with 579 deaths. There were 36,384 active cases in Lebanon Monday.

None of the new cases were among people traveling to Lebanon from abroad and the positivity rate stood at 21.5 percent. This is almost double the 14-day average of 11.3 percent but is an artificial peak because fewer people undergo tests Sundays and those who do tend to be already exhibiting symptoms.

There were 242 people receiving treatment in intensive care units Monday -- occupancy rate of 85.2 percent of the 285 ICU beds that the World Health Organization reports are available in Lebanon.

Health adviser Petra Khoury said in a tweet Sunday that additional preventive measures should be taken in Lebanon’s big cities such as Beirut and its suburbs. She also called on the people to be active in preventing the spread of the virus.

“Only through governmental enforcement and civic responsibilities that we can control the spread, protect our loved ones and prevent additional deaths,” Khoury said.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan announced Monday that Lebanon would receive this week 150,000 Vacci-Grippe and 300,000 Tetravac coronavirus vaccines.

Despite the ever-rising number of coronavirus cases, the Interior Ministry ordered 69 villages and towns to enter into lockdown from Monday 6 a.m. until November 2nd. Last week 79 were under these enhanced measures.

Hassan has repeatedly expressed that the localized lockdowns have not worked properly, and repeated Monday that they had failed to curb the virus’ spread.