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Lebanon Records 1,041 COVID-19 Cases, Vaccine Expected in February

Lebanon Records 1,041 COVID-19 Cases, Vaccine Expected in February
folder_openMiddle East... access_time3 years ago
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By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon Monday recorded 1,041 new coronavirus cases and 11 new deaths as authorities announced a COVID-19 vaccine would arrive in Lebanon at the end of the winter season.

Of the new cases, only 14 were found among travelers arriving from abroad, bringing the total number of registered cases in the country to 117,476.

The Health Ministry reported that a total of 6,171 tests had been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks has stood at 14.9 percent. A total of 911 people have died of coronavirus related complications since the disease was first detected in Feb.

Cases have continued to surge as authorities implemented a total lockdown on Nov. 14 in an attempt to slow the spread of the virus in the country. Lockdown is expected to end Nov. 30

The caretaker health minister announced Sunday night that Lebanon would receive COVID-19 shipments from Pfizer – one of the lead developers of the vaccine – in mid-February at the latest.

Another positive development regarding coronavirus was the announcement that rapid antigen testing had become available in Lebanon.

According to the head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Dr. Firass Abiad who in a series of tweets Monday said that the test is “cheaper than PCR, sensitive, has low demand on logistics, and can give a result in less than 30 min.”

However, he questioned the integration of this type of method.

“How will it fit in the current testing strategy, and will results be promptly reported to impact tracing?”

As Lebanon entered its second week of a full lockdown, the positivity rate of tests remained high at around 15 percent but was stable.

The lockdown was imposed to provide the struggling health sector the change to increase its readiness to take in more patients.

The World Health Organization in Lebanon reported that the number of Intensive Care Unit beds had increased from 372 on Nov. 13 to 427 on Nov. 20. The total number of coronavirus patients in the ICU is 339 according to the Health Ministry.

However, there often isn’t enough medical staff to accommodate these expansions as many are infected themselves while others have left the country in search of better opportunities abroad – a direct result of the country's economic crisis.

Authorities have stated that if numbers – over 1,000 everyday – do not decline at the end of the lockdown, an extension is possible.

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