Caretaker Minister of Health Firas Abiad. (Credit: AFP)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Health Minister Firass Abiad stated that Lebanon is experiencing a new wave of COVID-19, but assured citizens that the situation is still under control, during a press conference Thursday at the Ministry of Public Health.
Abiad said that citizens must continue to receive doses of the COVID vaccine as the number of infections rise in the country, as well as “in neighboring countries and various countries of the world.”
He added that the epidemiological surveillance teams at the Ministry of Public Health recorded an increase in the daily rate of infections to 108 cases, compared to less than 40 cases per day in the previous stage.
“The percentage of positive tests also increased to 12.7%, after it ranged between 5.5% and 6% at the beginning of last December. As for the number of patients in hospitals, it is 71 COVID patients, including 17 in intensive care and four on respirators,” he noted.
Abiad also said that COVID cases increased during the holidays, and noted that there is a higher probability of infection during the winter season.
“The situation is still under control, and we expect the number of infections to decrease later, as happened in previous waves,” he assured citizens.
Since the first case of COVID-19 was registered in Lebanon in February 2020, 1,223,174 people suffered from the disease. At least 10,748 patients died, according to the latest toll published Wednesday night by the ministry.
Lebanon is also still struggling with its first cholera outbreak since 1993, though Abiad offered assurances that this situation is also still under control.