Lebanon recorded 3,157 new coronavirus (COVID-19) cases on Wednesday, the Health Ministry said in its daily report on the epidemic.
The new cases raise the total number of infections recorded in Lebanon since the beginning of the outbreak to 328,023. These include 2,449 cases among medical workers, of which 5 were confirmed on Wednesday.
Of the total cases, 106,642 are active, considering that 3,803 virus-related fatalities and 217,578 recoveries have been recorded in the country so far.
In the past 24 hours, 66 COVID-19 patients passed away and 2,019 others underwent full recovery, according to the report.
15,703 PCR tests – 14,523 local tests and 1,180 tests at the airport – were administered in the same period.
As of the time of writing, 2,257 patients occupy hospital beds across Lebanon, 928 are in critical condition in intensive care units, and 289 are on mechanical ventilation.
Firass Abiad, the head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, has warned of a “Lebanese strain” of the virus, citing Lebanon’s lack of sufficient preventive measures and genetic monitoring programs to prevent local mutations.
In a tweet on Wednesday, Abiad warned that low participation in vaccination will be “tragic.”
He revealed that only 33% of responders above the age of 65 in Lebanon, i.e. people at the highest risk, want to be vaccinated and that only 4.5% of the population (296,187) have registered to receive the vaccine so far.
On a side note, the Lebanese Industry Ministry has announced that a factory in Lebanon is ready to manufacture COVID-19 vaccines.
On Tuesday, the Health Ministry recorded 2,879 COVID-19 cases and 60 fatalities.
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