Almost a year after the first coronavirus case was reported in Lebanon, the country’s bustling capital has now reached a life-threatening point where it is unable to treat COVID-19 patients.
“We no longer have enough beds [for COVID-19 patients]. We have reached a more than dangerous stage,” said the health advisor of Lebanon’s President to LBCI, adding that Lebanon’s biggest issue is the culture of following preventative measures.
Similarly, the Secretary-General of the Lebanese Red Cross stated that Beirut’s hospitals can no longer take in new positive cases. “We are studying the possibility of transferring the patients to hospitals outside Beirut and Mount Lebanon,” he said.
However, according to the president’s health advisor, the majority of hospitals are already overcrowded with COVID-19 patients.
Lebanon witnessed an influx of coronavirus cases throughout December after coming out from a total lockdown. Just this week, Lebanon broke the record for daily COVID-19 cases, with over 3,500 people testing positive.
Additionally, since Lebanon decided against the recommendations of health experts and did not ban flight from Britain, the mutated coronavirus strain was brought to Lebanon with a traveler from the UK.
It is expected that PCR tests at governmental hospitals will become more affordable. As per the decision of the Health Ministry, the PCR test will cost 100,000 LBP as of Monday.
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