Pandemic Claims More Lives in Libya

Employees sanitize the corridors of Benghazi Medical Centre following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Benghazi. (REUTERS)

Libya’s executive and medical authorities are increasing their efforts to confront the coronavirus pandemic, as the number of deaths continues to increase in most cities and towns, especially among medical staff and nursing teams.

A number of doctors and nurses had died in Libya of the COVID-19 virus, prompting the supreme advisory committee, in western Libya, to consider them “martyrs of the duty” in appreciation of their role in fighting the pandemic.

On Friday, al-Khadra Hospital in Tripoli announced that Dr. Ayad Jibril, head of the sterilization department, had died after contracting the coronavirus.

The hospital issued a statement mourning the doctor, saying that he worked hard and spared no efforts in serving patients.

The National Center for Disease Control recorded 595 new active coronavirus cases in 22 municipalities and cities across the country, including 353 in Tripoli, a significant drop from earlier figures.

A medical source at the center told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decrease in the number of detected cases in the capital was due to the decline in conducted tests.

However, the medical committee in the west of the country began taking random samples from citizens to detect the virus, added the source.

Kufra’s committee to combat the coronavirus indicated that the laboratory of the National Center did not receive any new requests for coronavirus tests, announcing 293 new positive cases, with 37 deaths and one recovery.

Libya’s count of confirmed cases reached 67,039, including 920 deaths, and 39,243 recoveries, according to the National Center for Disease Control.

The Ministry of Health of the interim government in the east warned of an increase in positive cases with the start of winter, noting that many countries began imposing restrictions and lockdowns.

It urged all Libyans to adhere to precautionary measures in order to help control the pandemic.

Local hospitals, especially in the south, had indicated that they have limited medical resources to face the pandemic. However, other medical centers and hospitals in western and eastern Libya announced their readiness for the new wave of infections, as the authorities increased the number of isolation centers to receive any new cases.