LEBANON yesterday recorded its highest daily number of Covid-19 deaths and infections, as the country licks its wounds from the catastrophic blast at Beirut’s port a week ago.

Seven people died of the coronavirus in the past 24 hours, said the Health Ministry, and 309 cases were recorded in the same period.

The new figures bring total infections to 7,121 and deaths to 87.

While the daily tallies are still relatively low compared with some countries, they have risen in recent days, straining health facilities already overwhelmed by an influx of those injured in the August 4 explosion.

Health officials have warned that the chaos caused by the blast that killed 171 people and injured 6,000 risks leading to a spike in infections.

According to an estimate by the Beirut governor, up to 300,000 people have been made temporarily homeless by the explosion that ravaged swathes of the capital.

At least 15 medical facilities, including three major hospitals, sustained structural damage, according to the United Nations.

The collective trauma inflicted by Lebanon’s worst peacetime disaster has caused a loosening of social-distancing habits.

With the start of the school year just around the corner and the flu season coming soon after, the head of the main public hospital in the fight against Covid-19 warned that the next few days are critical.

“The events of the previous week have, understandably, shifted attention away from the pandemic,” said Firass Abiad on social media.

However, “we cannot afford to allow the virus to go unchecked”. – AFP, August 12, 2020.