WHO says Lebanese COVID-19 response hard after blast
Lebanon on Tuesday (August 11) announced a record daily number of over 300 COVID-19 infections and seven deaths from the virus.
The country's tally now stands at 7,121 COVID-19 cases and 87 deaths since February, according to health ministry data. Even before the blast there had been a recent surge in infections.
The Aug. 4 explosion killed at least 171 people, injured some 6,000 and damaged swathes of the capital, leaving some 300,000 without habitable housing. Hospitals, many of which were damaged and their staff injured, were flooded with wounded.
WHO representative in Lebanon Iman Shankiti said social distancing measures have been difficult to put in place since the detonation. She said the WHO is currently investigating the health risks that the dust and debris from the blast. She said three hospitals have suffered severe damage because of the blast and have stopped operating, while another three are partially hit.
The WHO on Aug. 7 issued an appeal for $15 million to cover emergency health needs in Lebanon, where the healthcare sector had already been strained by shortages of medical supplies and medicine due to a deep financial crisis.
