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More than 200 people were injured as security forces used live fire, rubber bullets and tear gas against protesters in Tripoli. At least three civilians were shot with live rounds, while the Internal Security Forces said a grenade had critically injured one of its members. The dramatic scenes came on the third day of escalating protests against the country’s strict COVID-19 lockdown, which has placed extra strain on those who rely on daily wages, and a lack of promised government support. As the protests have progressed, grievances against the government have become more pronounced, increasingly resembling the Oct. 17 uprising against Lebanon’s ruling class. When security forces opened fire on protesters last night, they were attempting to take back the city’s central Al-Nour Square — the primary site of Tripoli’s protests during the 2019 uprising.

The Health Ministry released Lebanon’s much anticipated COVID-19 inoculation strategy yesterday ahead of today’s launch of the online platform to register people for the COVID-19 vaccine. Under the plan, the first five batches of 2.1 million vaccines will be rolled out weekly beginning mid-February, and each person will require two doses of the Pfizer vaccine within three weeks. The plan aims to vaccinate 400 people daily in each inoculation center. The first phase will prioritize the most vulnerable residents, including health workers, people aged 65 and older, and staff in elderly homes and prisons. The second phase of the vaccine rollout will prioritize “other vulnerable populations,” including schoolteachers, child care workers, essential workers in high-risk jobs, and remaining health care workers. The plan envisions inoculating 70 percent of the country’s population by the end of the year. “The vaccine will be free of charge … even in private vaccination centers,” caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said at the unveiling of the road map. If all goes as planned, some 249,000 doses will be administered before the end of March, with another 350,000 to be given in the second quarter of the year, 800,175 in the third, and 699,750 in the fourth, covering some 1 million residents with the required two doses.

For the second day in a row, a record number of people died from COVID-19, with 76 deaths reported Wednesday, bringing the death toll to 2,553. Almost three weeks into the country’s most stringent lockdown yet, which — at least in theory — shut down all nonessential businesses and implemented a 24-hour curfew, COVID-19 cases continue to mount. ICU hospitalizations climbed to a record 945 while an additional 3,906 people tested positive for the virus. Hospitals continue to struggle under the pressure of COVID-19 patients in critical condition, with doctors saying their ICUs are overflowing.