Lebanon Records 1,022 Coronavirus Cases, 8 Deaths in 24 Hrs.

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon registered 1,022 new COVID-19 cases and eight deaths in the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry reported Wednesday, as the country prepared to inoculate school students aged 11 to 16.

The cases were found among 20,139 tests, resulting in an average two-week positivity rate of 8.3 percent.

The report also showed that 447 people were in hospital with the virus, including 217 patients in intensive care and 48 on ventilators.

The new numbers bring the aggregate to 603,288 cases and 8,061 deaths in Lebanon since the virus was first discovered in February 2020.

Meanwhile, a total of 9,361 first-dose vaccine jabs were administered, bringing the total to 1,458,799 or 30.6 percent of the eligible population, as well as 8,736 second-dose jabs, resulting in a total of 1,197,690 individuals or 25.1 percent of the eligible population now fully vaccinated in Lebanon since the vaccination began six months ago.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan asked students born between 2005 - 2010 to register on the vaccination platform ahead of a campaign to inoculate them. Schools will open to in-person education later this month.