Lebanon Registers 2,870 New Coronavirus Cases, 10 More Deaths

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 2,870 new coronavirus cases and 10 more deaths in a 24-hour period Sunday, while calls for a full lockdown grew as the public health situation became more catastrophic in the face of a surge in cases.

Head of the Order of Physicians Sharaf Abu Sharaf reaffirmed his call Sunday for a lockdown because hospitals had reached their maximum capacity to take in both regular coronavirus patients and those who need intensive care as numbers increase at a rate the country cannot handle.

He said there was currently no solution besides a lockdown and abiding by prevention measures until the vaccine arrives or a cure is found.

The parliamentary Health Committee Saturday called for a three-week lockdown in the face of an unprecedented surge and to relieve the country’s fragile health care system.

An official decision on the lockdown is expected to be taken Monday.

All recorded cases in the last 24 hours were among the local population, according to the Health Ministry report, bringing the total number of cases since the virus was first detected in late February to 189,278. The total number of deaths now stands at 1,486.

A total of 19,270 PCR tests have been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 13.8 percent.

Meanwhile caretaker Telecommunications Minister Talal Hawat announced that he had also tested positive for the virus and would be in isolation.