BEIRUT, Aug. 22 (Xinhua) -- The Lebanese health ministry reported on Saturday 611 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number to 12,191 while the death toll went up by five to 121.
Over the past few days, Lebanese doctors have been warning against a scenario of uncontrollable spread of COVID-19 similar to what had happened in Italy.
Walid Mahmoud, director general of Irfan Hospital, said in that scenario hospitals would become full and doctors have to remove ventilators from the old to save young people.
"We will also have to choose who will be admitted to hospitals which cannot receive all patients at once," Mahmoud told Xinhua.
Lebanon has been registering highest daily coronavirus infections in the past few days since the outbreak on Feb. 21.
Authorities attributed this surge to the lack of public commitment to anti-virus measures and restrictions as people visit clubs, pubs, beaches and restaurants without wearing masks or maintaining social distancing.
Ghassan Awar, an infectious diseases doctor at the American University of Beirut Medical Center, said hospitals and emergency rooms specialized in the fight against COVID-19 have become almost full.
"We should avoid crowded places even if this will have a bad economic impact," Awar told Xinhua.
Mahmoud expressed his support for a complete nationwide lockdown including the closure of the airport for at least 14 days as arrivals do not commit to quarantine and the cabinet adopted no proper mechanism to follow up on visitors from abroad.
Moreover, the Beirut explosions on Aug. 4 that killed at least 177 and wounded about 6,000 others further stretched the hospitals' resources.
Firas Abiad, director general at Rafic Hariri University Hospital, highlighted the need to expand bed capacity in hospitals and to use the field hospitals sent by donor countries after Beirut's blasts for the fight against COVID-19.
Lebanon started on Friday a new phase of lockdown and curfew from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 14 days in an attempt to curb the spread of the virus.
Cafes, bars, restaurants, pools and beaches were ordered to shut down across the country.
Lebanon has been back to zero in its fight against COVID-19, warned caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan. Enditem
