Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad during a tour of the Bekaa on Oct. 23, 2022. (Courtesy of Sarah Abdallah)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Health Ministry announced in a statement Monday that it will fully cover all cholera patients and suspected cases' expenses at public hospitals, including emergency hospital admissions, regardless of the patients' insurer or lack thereof, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Lebanon has to date recorded a total of 10 cholera deaths, while 239 cases have been confirmed since the beginning of the outbreak, according to the Health Ministry.
On Sunday, traces of cholera were detected in water samples from three public springs in the Bab al-Tabbaneh neighborhood in Tripoli, North Lebanon, the ministry said. Although the Health Ministry reported these were public water sources, the North Lebanon Water Establishment denied this, saying the samples were taken from a private well equipped by a private company and not monitored by the government.
The World Health Organization said Friday that tests on wastewater in Ain al-Mreisseh in Beirut, the Ghadir station and in Burj Hammoud in Mount Lebanon confirmed the presence of traces of cholera.