BEIRUT: The head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Friday warned that Lebanons coronavirus situation is alarming, after three consecutive days of record coronavirus cases.

The test positivity rate increased. The majority of deaths yesterday were of middle-aged patients. In short, the situation is alarming, Dr. Firass Abiad said in a series of tweets.

Any increase in Covid patients will be followed by an increase in the number of critical patients after a short period of time. Most of the Covid units in hospitals are operating at a high occupancy, Abiad said, adding that hospitals need more resources to deal with another surge.

Lebanon for the third consecutive day Thursday recorded a record breaking number of COVID-19 cases, with 1,933 new infections and eight further deaths.

The latest figures bring the number of active cases in the country to 38,045 out of a total of 77,778 since February. There have now been 610 people who have died from COVID-related complications in the country.

There were 248 out of the 288 ICU beds occupied Thursday, an occupancy rate of 86 percent.

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hasan meanwhile called for local lockdowns to be enforced more closely, noting while speaking at a hospital in Chtoura in Zahle that they had not been effective in containing the virus' spread.

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