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Health sector experts warned on Saturday, January 1, 2021, that Lebanon is heading for a “catastrophic” health situation after the significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases during the holiday period, while hospitals are close to reach its maximum capacity.
Petra Khoury, the interim adviser for health issues, told AFP that the National Committee to Fight Covid-19 will meet during the day to issue a recommendation to the authorities to impose a new blockade on the country for three weeks.
Lebanon has witnessed several closures since February 2020, the last of which was in November. However, the restrictions were later relaxed, leading to a significant increase in the number of injuries during the holidays.
On Thursday, Lebanon recorded more than 3,500 new cases of COVID-19, its highest number of daily victims. The total number of injured has reached 183,888 so far, according to the official number, out of a population of about six million, including some 1.5 million refugees.
On Saturday, the head of the Private Hospital Owners Union, Suleiman Haroun, spoke of a “catastrophic” situation and told AFP that the 50 private hospitals in Lebanon receiving Covid-19 patients are “almost full.”
He explained that these hospitals allocate 850 beds for injured patients, including 300 in intensive care, and said that “patients are queuing at the emergency room, hoping to secure a bed.”
For her part, Petra Khoury said that “the problem is that when a patient is admitted to the intensive care unit, they stay there for three weeks”, which delays the possibility of admitting other patients.
He added that “the social gatherings and special parties that were organized at Christmas and New Years” contributed greatly to the increase in the number of injured, explaining that “they constituted more than 70% of the positive cases” registered in recent days.
He added that the intensive care units in Beirut hospitals are now “over 90% full.”
Pending a decision by the authorities on the possibility of imposing a new closure, the Lebanese Red Cross expressed its fear of the worst.
Beirut asked us not to transfer patients. Therefore, we are transferring them to hospitals in Bekaa (east) and Nabatiyeh (south). “
In addition to the serious health crisis, Lebanon is suffering from the worst economic crisis that has led to an increase in poverty at a twice rate, according to the United Nations.
In February, Lebanon will receive its first shipment of COVID-19 vaccines.
