Beirut-Lebanon, mired in economic turmoil deepened by the Beirut port blast three months ago, is weighing a second nationwide lockdown to stem a surge in coronavirus cases.
“Today we’re at a very dangerous crossroads,” said caretaker health minister Hamad Hassan, warning that hospitals are running out of intensive care beds.
“We’re approaching a disastrous situation,” he was quoted as saying Sunday by the official National News Agency.
The country of six million people has recorded 83,697 cases of Covid-19 including 652 deaths since February. Around a third of the population are Syrian or Palestinian refugees, many living in overcrowded camps.
A first country-wide lockdown imposed in March was effective in stemming the spread of the virus, and restrictions were gradually lifted as summer beckoned people outdoors.
But then daily infections slowly ticked up again -- and they surged after the monstrous Beirut port blast of August 4 ravaged swathes of the capital and overwhelmed hospitals.
Daily new cases have risen from a few dozen in early summer to more than 1,000 now.
Hassan sounded the alarm on Sunday, warning that “in some cases, there are no beds in intensive care. This needs to be taken very seriously.”