Patients being treated in a field hospital in Bebnine, in the northern region of Akkar, on Oct. 25, 2022. (Credit: Michel Hallak / L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — All 20 beds in a newly-installed field clinic in Bebnine, Akkar, were filled with cholera patients just hours after the clinic was set up Tuesday, according to L’Orient Today’s correspondent in the north.
The clinic was erected in Habib al-Mustafa Mosque and is treating patients of all ages, sometimes from the same family. The most severe cases are being transferred to government hospitals in Halba, Minieh and Tripoli.
Lebanon recorded one new cholera death and 48 additional cases in 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Monday night, bringing the total to 287 cases and 11 deaths.
In a press conference last week, caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad cast concern over the cholera outbreak in Lebanon, noting the "rapid spread of the disease" and adding that despite the fact that most cases have been "among the [Syrian] refugees," there has been "an increase in the cases among the Lebanese."
The minister also indicated that upon closer investigation, most of the deaths appear attributable to the fact that patients did not receive medical care, and he encouraged those who feel ill and those who suspect having contracted cholera to go to the hospital.
Abiad also said last week that "nearly 10,000 doses of the vaccine will arrive in Lebanon within the next 10 days and will be used primarily by medical teams dealing with the spread of cholera and by people in crowded places such as prisons."
Additional reporting by Michel Hallak.