Lebanon Registers 30 COVID-19 Deaths, 1,512 Cases

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 30 more coronavirus deaths and 1,512 new cases, the Health Ministry said Thursday.

The cases were detected among 17,727 tests, with only nine cases found among travelers arriving at Rafik Hariri International Airport. The average positivity rate throughout the last two weeks stood at 12.5 percent.

The total number of cases since the virus was first detected in the country in February last year rose to 516,600 according to figures released by the Health Ministry. The total number of fatalities now stands at 7,057.

The statistics provided by the Health Ministry also show that 1,555 patients are currently hospitalized for COVID-19 and related complications, with 717 in the ICU and 191 requiring ventilators.

The Health Ministry also reported that 5,086 first-stage jabs and 4,960 second-round vaccinations were administered in the past 24 hours, bringing the cumulative number of inoculations since the Feb. 14 onset to 258,939 first-stage and 139,644 second-stage jabs so far.

Head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital Dr. Firass Abiad Thursday estimated that around 45 percent of the population in Lebanon has immunity against the virus. According to Abiad 40 percent have natural immunity and another 5 percent have been vaccinated. Around half a million in Lebanon have so far caught the virus since it was first detected.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan has said that at least 70 percent need to be immune for the country to reach herd immunity, which he plans on reaching in the summer.