BEIRUT — The Health Ministry on Thursday announced the closure of the Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Hospital Center, which was donated by the United Arab Emirates and opened earlier this year to assist in the treatment of patients with COVID-19.
Here’s what we know:
• In a statement, the ministry said the hospital had completed its mission as an emergency center, adding that since its opening on Jan. 12, it had received 460 patients with 54 requiring treatment in its intensive care unit.
• In light of the decline in COVID-19 cases, the center will close Friday, the statement read.
• However, the ministry pointed out that COVID-19 units at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital and other governmental hospitals “will continue receiving and treating infected cases.”
• The ministry is seeking to transform the UAE-donated COVID-19 center into one that “provides medical services to meet the needs of patients and support the health system in Lebanon,” the statement added, noting that a plan will be announced soon.
• A brief flurry of controversy surrounded the center’s opening in January when a Kuwaiti flag was mistakenly displayed instead of the Emirati flag at the hospital’s inauguration.