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Morning brief

Record deaths, delayed deliveries, Bekaa floods: Everything you need to know to start your Tuesday

Here’s what happened yesterday and what to expect today, Tuesday, January 19, 2021

Record deaths, delayed deliveries, Bekaa floods: Everything you need to know to start your Tuesday

A medic cares for a COVID-19 patient at Ragheb Harb University Hospital in Nabatieh. (Credit: Mahmoud Zayyat/AFP)

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Lebanon registered a macabre new record of 53 COVID-19 deaths yesterday as the health catastrophe gripping the country worsens. Overwhelmed hospitals are continuing to grapple with an influx of patients requiring critical care; 750 patients were in ICUs, according to the latest statistics. Meanwhile, Rafik Hariri University Hospital, the largest public hospital and the front-line center for confronting the pandemic, said it was reallocating services for COVID-19 wards and halting non-essential activities. Hospitals elsewhere are diverting resources in a scramble to provide treatment for the growing number of patients.

The caretaker health minister signed off on the first batch of dues owed to hospitals for treating COVID-19 patients. In a statement issued by his office Monday, Hamad Hassan said eight public hospitals and five private facilities would be able to collect money — financed by a World Bank loan — from the central bank. In December, the minister promised that hospitals would be reimbursed with the loan’s funds for treating patients suffering from the virus. Following the outbreak of COVID-19 in Lebanon last year, the World Bank on March 12 approved the reallocation of $40 million from a pre-existing loan to help the country’s health sector tackle the pandemic.

Supermarkets are chafing under the delivery-only COVID-19 restrictions, tentatively set to end next week. Syndicate of Supermarket Owners head Nabil Fahed told L’Orient Today yesterday that the businesses were struggling to keep up with orders, leading to dayslong delays. Meanwhile, the chair of the Spinneys chain called on authorities to permit shoppers to visit the stores under the auspices of the state’s Impact app that permits case-by-case travel during the 24-hour curfew. The restrictions have had knock-on effects, according to the head of the Bekaa Farmers’ Association, who said farmers were selling 80 percent less produce due to delivery-only restrictions for restaurants and supermarkets.

In multiple areas of the Bekaa yesterday, Syrian refugees had to contend with ankle-deep pools of standing water following heavy downpours. A local aid worker in Arsal told L’Orient Today that NGOs were able to respond to distribute heating fuel, replacement mattresses, blankets and food. The Sawa for Development and Aid NGO sounded the alarm over conditions at Bekaa camps amid the multi-day storm and said that heavy winds had knocked over tents and forced their residents into seeking shelter with others, increasing the risk of COVID-19 spread. In the summer of 2019, the Lebanese Army demolished dozens of semi-permanent structures in Syrian refugee settlements in Arsal, citing normally unenforced building codes.

The central bank is continuing to flood the market with lira, despite its other policies aimed to lower Lebanese banknotes in circulation, according to its latest figures. Banque du Liban’s interim balance sheet, released yesterday, showed an increase of LL1.46 trillion in circulation outside the central bank in the first half of January, putting the total over LL32 trillion. Meanwhile, BDL’s hard currency assets dropped by about $350 million during the same period. This drop means the central bank has fewer dollars to continue its subsidy program, which might last for only a couple more weeks.

Want to get the Morning Brief by email? Click here to sign up.Lebanon registered a macabre new record of 53 COVID-19 deaths yesterday as the health catastrophe gripping the country worsens. Overwhelmed hospitals are continuing to grapple with an influx of patients requiring critical care; 750 patients were in ICUs, according to the latest statistics. Meanwhile, Rafik Hariri University Hospital,...