Lebanon Records 1,478 New Virus Cases, 11 Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 1,478 new coronavirus cases and 11 deaths Friday, as caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan announced that a total of 17 hospitals were now able to take in virus patients, with the capacity to treat 1,000.

Hasan told a news conference that the number of hospitals taking in coronavirus patients had increased from 10 to 17 and that 1,000 patients could now be treated. He said the number of hospitals was expected to rise to 20 by the end of this year.

"The World Health Organization is providing aid through supplying hospitals with ventilators and covering the patients’ health care expenses,” he added.

Among the new cases recorded Friday, six were from travelers arriving from abroad, bringing the total number of cases to 134,254 since the illness was first detected in late February. The total number of virus-related deaths now stands at 1,078.

A total of 12,013 PCR tests were administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 15 percent.

The caretaker health minister also announced that the ministry was working in cooperation with the World Bank on increasing the number of coronavirus wings at Roumieh Prison that are able to receive prisoners infected by COVID-19.

“There should be more hospitals designated for treating prisoners, there should be one in each governorate,” he said.

As of Dec. 1, a total of 578 positive cases have been registered at Roumieh Prison, according to the Internal Security Forces.

Roumieh Prison houses more than 3,000 prisoners, with cells holding triple their capacity, and has long been infamous for the poor conditions in some of its blocks. There is also poor health care and little medicine available for prisoners.

As Lebanon suffers an economic meltdown along with a political and social crisis, the pandemic has only exacerbated the country's fragile situation.

Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab sad in a speech for a special United Nations General Assembly session to tackle the global COVID-19 response that international aid directed to Lebanon in its fight against the virus had been “limited.”