Libyan Hospitals Helpless amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases

Nurses care for a patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a quarantine center, in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
Nurses care for a patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a quarantine center, in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
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Libyan Hospitals Helpless amid Spike in COVID-19 Cases

Nurses care for a patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a quarantine center, in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)
Nurses care for a patient infected with the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), at a quarantine center, in Misrata, Libya. (Reuters)

A number of Libyan hospitals are struggling to treat the surge in coronavirus cases, especially with limited capabilities and shortage in health care professionals.

The National Center for Disease Control of Libya reported 1,076 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the tally in the country to 41,368, with 23,453 recoveries and 621 death.

In recent days, Libya recorded over a thousand new cases per day. Tripoli topped the infections with 463, followed by Gharyan with 118 and Benghazi with 92.

Head of the PCR testing unit at Sabha Medical Center, Khadija al-Abbasi, announced that the center received a large number of confirmed and suspected cases.

In a video statement, Abbasi said that the closure of quarantine centers in the south led to the jump in the cases arriving at the center, which hampered medical staff.

She indicated that people accompanying patients and visitors at the Center may contribute to transmitting the virus, announcing that all doctors and staff are being tested.

A source at the National Center for Disease Control in Sabha warned that people are ignoring the authorities’ health warnings and are not following preventive measures, which is leading to the spread of the disease.

He told Asharq al-Awsat that all medical centers and hospitals in Libya are suffering from a lack of medical equipment and shortage in health care staff, similar to the situation in Sabha Medical Center.

Meanwhile, the Medical Advisory Committee of the interim government in eastern Libya announced that a specialized coronavirus training team visited the northeastern COVID-19 Shahat Hospital, to ensure the protocols and recommendations are followed.



Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
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Building in Beirut Southern Suburbs Struck After Israeli Warning

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)
Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike on Dahieh in the southern suburb of Beirut, Lebanon, Sunday, April 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

A building in Beirut’s southern suburbs known as Dahieh was struck on Sunday almost an hour after the Israeli army issued an evacuation order to residents of the area.

The Israeli army's spokesperson, Avichay Adraee, earlier said on X that residents should evacuate several buildings in the Hadath neighborhood and move "at least 300 meters away.”

Residents reported hearing gunfire across the area, which they said they believed was intended to warn people to leave, as well as seeing a massive traffic jam on roads leading from the area.

"To everyone located in the building marked in red on the attached map, and the surrounding buildings: you are near facilities belonging to Hezbollah," Adraee wrote in a post that included a map of the potential targets.

The Israeli army said the building was being used to store precision missiles belonging to Hezbollah.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement that Hezbollah's precision missiles "posed a significant threat to the State of Israel."

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called on the United States and France, as guarantors of the ceasefire agreement struck in November, to compel Israel to stop its attacks.
"Israel's continued actions in undermining stability will exacerbate tensions and place the region at real risk, threatening its security and stability," he said in a statement.

Earlier this month an Israeli airstrike killed four people, including a Hezbollah official, in Beirut's southern suburbs -the second Israeli strike on a Hezbollah-controlled area of the Lebanese capital in five days.