The Lebanese Red Cross transported 20 elderly patients from a retirement home to a hospital after they developed severe coughing and vomiting. (Courtesy of :Michel Hallak)
BEIRUT — The Lebanese Red Cross transported 20 elderly residents of a North Lebanon retirement home, who were suffering from severe coughing and vomiting, to hospital on Sunday, L'Orient Today's correspondent in the area reported.
The Lebanese Red Cross transported the patients from the home in the Abi Samra neighborhood of Tripoli to the governmental hospital in the city, where they are undergoing tests to identify the cause of their symptoms. The hospital's director, Nasser Adra, told L'Orient Today that the 20 patients were isolated and are being treated "as if they are suffering from cholera." According to Adra, the results of the tests carried out will be available on Monday.
Cholera reappeared in Lebanon on Oct. 5 for the first time in more than 30 years and has so far led to 20 deaths.
Reporting contributed by Michel Hallak