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Lebanon enters its second full week of 24-hour COVID-19 lockdown as the number of patients in intensive care units hit an all-time high yesterday. The Health Ministry reported on Sunday that 913 coronavirus patients were being treated in ICUs, meaning most hospital ICUs were full or near full. Lebanon registered 7,186 new cases over the weekend, bringing the number of confirmed infections since the beginning of the year to 98,145 — an enormous surge that has overwhelmed hospitals. Fatalities are also on the rise, with 102 people dying of the disease over the weekend. “In 10 days, the case fatality rate from COVID-19 in Lebanon has increased from 0.75 percent to 0.84 percent. This rise was expected as patients continue to face delayed access to care,” Firass Abiad, the head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital, warned in a tweet yesterday.

Small protests were held across the country Saturday against deteriorating living conditions, exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown measures and a lack of government aid. Groups in northern Lebanon blocked the highways leading north and south of Tripoli, as well as the city’s central Al-Nour Square roundabout, while another group protested against the lockdown extension in the southern city of Saida. While Lebanon’s economy continues to collapse, the nationwide 24-hour lockdown, set to last until Feb. 8, has been criticized for its disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable residents, many of whom rely on daily wages. While the government has said it plans to give the most vulnerable families a one-time payment of LL400,000 — a meager $46 at the current market rate — it is not set to be disbursed until after the lockdown ends.

The Health Ministry is set to launch an online platform to register those who want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine today, according to the head of the parliamentary health committee. After people register, they will be directed to one of 35 vaccination centers that will be established around the country. Vaccines are set to begin arriving the first week of February; some 250,000 Pfizer doses are expected to arrive by the end of March, with another 350,000 by the middle of the year. The committee chair said the vaccination campaign will not be exclusive for Lebanese nationals, explaining that scientific standards require at least 80 percent of residents in the country receive inoculation to successfully combat COVID-19. Georges Juvelekian, the head of the ICU at Beirut’s St. George Hospital, told L’Orient Today that he had concerns over Lebanon’s vaccination rollout, warning that “people will try to get in front of the line” unless authorities implement strict procedures.

Due to the lockdown, fewer events have been planned for this week.