Lebanon records 641 new virus cases amid UNIFIL breakout
Lebanon recorded 641 new coronavirus cases and two deaths Sunday amid a mass breakout in the ranks of UNIFIL forces in southern Lebanon, the peacekeeping force operating on the Lebanon-Israel border.
Of the new cases, 627 of them were via local transmission, whereas 14 were people arriving from abroad. There are now a total of 241 deaths due to coronavirus complications since the illness was first detected on Feb. 21.
There were a total of 8,352 virus tests conducted in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 10.7 percent. Overall test positivity has now decreased by 12 percent in the last two weeks.
UNIFIL said in a statement Sunday that 90 UNIFIL peacekeepers had tested positive for COVID-19. Although they did not reveal their nationalities, 88 of them are reportedly from the Ghanaian contingent, according to a Lebanese security source.
Ghana is the oldest and currently one of the largest contributing countries, serving UNIFIL with over 850 troops.
Lebanon’s coronavirus cases saw an alarming surge in August and consequently higher positivity rates, coinciding with the catastrophic Beirut Port explosion. Thousands of injuries from the blast further overwhelmed the already-strained health care system.
On Aug. 26, Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council extended general mobilization regulations until the end of the year, following an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases over the last two months.
There were a total of 8,352 virus tests conducted in the last 24 hours, with a positivity rate of 10.7 percent. Overall test positivity has now decreased by 12 percent in the last two weeks.
UNIFIL said in a statement Sunday that 90 UNIFIL peacekeepers had tested positive for COVID-19. Although they did not reveal their nationalities, 88 of them are reportedly from the Ghanaian contingent, according to a Lebanese security source.
Ghana is the oldest and currently one of the largest contributing countries, serving UNIFIL with over 850 troops.
Lebanon’s coronavirus cases saw an alarming surge in August and consequently higher positivity rates, coinciding with the catastrophic Beirut Port explosion. Thousands of injuries from the blast further overwhelmed the already-strained health care system.
On Aug. 26, Lebanon’s Higher Defense Council extended general mobilization regulations until the end of the year, following an alarming spike in COVID-19 cases over the last two months.