BEIRUT: The head of Lebanon's main coronavirus hospital Tuesday called for the extension of the current total lockdown beyond Jan. 25, warning that the COVID-19 spread was out of control.

"Easing the lockdown cannot occur if the virus is spreading unchecked in the community," Dr. Firass Abiad, head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut, wrote in a tweet. "The infection is not under control."

Lebanon has recorded 255,956 coronavirus cases and 1,959 deaths since its outbreak started in February. It began a strict 11-day lockdown last Thursday after recording a 70 percent uptick in infections in one of the steepest increases in transmission worldwide.

New records of daily deaths and infections have been recorded in the last few days.

President Michel Aoun, meanwhile, called for a meeting for the Higher Defence Council Thursday that is expected to extend the shutdown by at least another week, officials said.

Petra Khoury of the government's COVID-19 taskforce told AFP that the duration of the lockdown needed to be doubled.

"We need at least three weeks of total lockdown" instead of just 11 days, she said.

Infections had skyrocketed after authorities loosened restrictions during the holiday season, allowing restaurants and nightclubs to open late, despite warnings from health professionals.

Hospitals have struggled to cope with the influx of new patients, with some treating cases in cars, pediatrics units and even dining halls.

The World Health Organization said Monday that the occupancy rate for intensive care beds in hospitals across Lebanon stood at 87.4 percent, down from 90.4 percent last week.

Sleiman Haroun, head of the Syndicate of Private Hospitals, said a lockdown extension was necessary.

"Medical cadres are worn out and I am alarmed over the large number of cases arriving in hospitals every day," he told AFP.

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