BEIRUT: Lebanons leading voice on coronavirus Sunday accused private health centers of not doing enough to prepare for a rise in infections among patients with severe pre-existing illnesses.

Five months after the outbreak of the pandemic, why have some prestigious health facilities not yet prepared for the possible infection of their dialysis patients with coronavirus, and not prepared dedicated wards for dialysis sessions [so that] other patients are not exposed to infection? the head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Firass Abiad tweeted.

Abiad said that in the past week, private health centers sent several patients infected with coronavirus and who suffer from kidney failure to RHUH for dialysis.

The majority of them needed intensive care and some of them later died, he added.

Abiad also suggested that these health centers were neglecting their responsibilities toward their long-standing patients and unfairly shifting the responsibility for treating them onto others.

Some dialysis centers have asked patients to make contact with and arrange transfer to our hospital themselves, he continued. The allocation of responsibilities should be based on a study of the needs in a transparent and fair manner, otherwise the patient will pay the price.

Abiad also noted that most of these COVID-positive dialysis patients had contracted the virus from the local community, and questioned whether they had been educated about the heightened risk that the virus poses to them as patients with severe illnesses.

Lebanon's private hospitals have long complained of funding shortages and the late payment of dues from the government. The country's ongoing economic collapse has added to their financial difficulties, with import costs rocketing and health insurance firms often paying them at the official rate of LL1507.5 to the dollar an 80 percent haircut on the market value.

COVID-19 has infected more than 4,730 people in Lebanon and killed 61 since February. The WHO warned this week that the global spread of the disease is still accelerating, with the number of cases doubling in the past six weeks. More than 685,179 people worldwide have died from the disease according to a tally by researchers at Johns Hopkins University.

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