For the first time since the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic broke out, Lebanon has recorded over 1,000 new cases within 24 hours.
On Sunday, September 20th, the Lebanese Ministry of Public Health reported 1,006 new infection cases, a record-breaker for Lebanon’s daily case numbers.
With that, Lebanon edges close to reaching a total of 30,000 COVID-19 cases. As of the time of writing, the country has 29,303 recorded cases, 16,959 of which are active.
On Sunday, the Health Ministry also announced 11 new COVID-19-related deaths, bringing the total of fatalities caused by the virus in Lebanon to 297, with the local mortality rate for it being close to 1%.
On the other hand, the recovery rate in Lebanon averages around 41%, with 12,047 being the number of total recoveries recorded thus far.
Since August, Lebanon has seen a significant spike in daily case numbers, the highest of which, prior to the 1,006 recorded on Sunday, was 779, on Saturday, September 19.
That unprecedented number prompted caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan to recommend the country’s total closure for two weeks, noting that recklessness and complacency could no longer be tolerated.
On Monday, Hasan announced that he had submitted the official recommendation to impose a total lockdown.
Notably, the Lebanese government previously extended the general mobilization until the end of the current year.
Caretaker Minister Hasan called for “full readiness with the onset of the fall season, which foreshadows a flu season in addition to coronavirus.”
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