All of Lebanon’s current COVID-19 ICU patients were unvaccinated, the health minister points out

BEIRUT — All of the COVID-19 patients currently hospitalized in Lebanon’s intensive care units were unvaccinated, according to a tweet Thursday by Health Minister Firass Abiad, who asked, “When will we learn the lesson?”

Here’s what we know:

    • Abiad’s tweet included a photo of a Health Ministry COVID-19 report with the statistic. ICU hospitalizations have steadily risen in the past month, from 198 on Nov. 22 to 314 yesterday, amid an uptick in cases and positivity rates.

    • In response to the rising number of COVID-19 cases, the government’s health committee on Dec. 1 rolled out a series of new measures, including: a curfew for the unvaccinated during the holiday season; making full vaccination mandatory for all public sector employees, as well as employees in the education, health and tourism sectors, as of Jan. 10; and extending the winter vacation for students of schools and universities from Dec. 16 to Jan. 10 in order to give schools more time to vaccinate students.

    • For its part, the Higher Defense Council yesterday extended the general mobilization from its expiry date on Dec. 31 to March 31, a legal umbrella allowing authorities to continue taking countermeasures against the virus.