Lebanon Tops 200k Coronavirus Cases with New Daily Record

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered a record-breaking number of daily coronavirus cases Thursday, with 4,774 new infections and 16 more deaths in the last 24 hours as the country went under its first day of lockdown to curb its spread.

Among the newly recorded cases, 45 were detected among incoming travelers, according to the Health Ministry report, bringing the total number of cases since the virus was first detected in late February to 204,699.

The total number of deaths now stands at 1,553.

A total of a 27,245 PCR tests have been administered in the last 24 hours. The positivity rate of the tests in the last two weeks stood at 14.7 percent.

The Health Ministry said 1,334 were in hospital for COVID-19, with 570 in ICUs and 160 on ventilators.

This is the third consecutive record-breaking day for Lebanon, with 3,620 cases registered Tuesday and 4,166 Wednesday.

Numbers are expected to rise even more in the coming week as the true impact of the holidays season, during which measures were lax and gatherings commonplace.

Lebanon Thursday entered its fifth lockdown since the pandemic began. It is set to last until February 1.

Caretaker Interior Minister Mohammad Fahmi Thursday said the level of adherence to lockdown rules was “very good” and called on governors and heads of municipalities to help Internal Security Forces in their monitoring mission.