The Italian government pledged to provide Libya a financial grant to help the country combat the COVID-19 pandemic in the southern region.
Deputy Chief of Mission at the Italian Embassy in Tripoli Walter De Martino said his country allocated €400,000 to support programs to combat the coronavirus in the affected areas in Libya. This came during his visit to the National Center for Disease Control.
The official also vowed to provide an adequate shipment of medical masks as part of the aid provided by the Italian government.
Martino praised the humanitarian medical mission team at the National Center on their successful performance at the COVID-19 hospital in Rome, where they worked and trained with medics to contain the pandemic.
Badreddine al-Najjar, the head of Libya's center for disease control, discussed with De Martino the local epidemiological situation and the efforts made to contain the spread of the virus.
Najjar reported that Martino praised the center’s efforts in combating the coronavirus in cooperation with international bodies and organizations.
Meanwhile, Libya reported 801 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 34,014.
The National Center for Disease Control also announced 384 new recoveries and 13 more deaths, raising the total recoveries in Libya to 18,902. The death toll stands at 540.
Despite the campaigns organized by local and international organizations, especially in western cities, Tripoli recorded the highest number of infections with 471 cases recorded in the past twenty-four hours.
A source at the National Center told Asharq Al-Awsat that some infected persons continue to transmit the virus widely, given that they do not follow the precautionary measures recommended by the Center.
The National Center for Disease Control launched training courses for medical personnel, in cooperation with the Arab Experts, at the center’s headquarters in Gorje.
The two-days course addressed diagnosing and treating the coronavirus, as well as implementing the infection control program in medical facilities.
