Caretaker Public Health Minister, Dr. Hamad Hasan, disclosed Saturday that “the Health Ministry’s plan during the two-week closure period relies on intensifying testing campaigns for early detection of those infected with the emerging COVID-19 virus, since early diagnosis would lead to the immediate isolation of cases at home so as to relieve some of the pressure on hospitals.”
“The Ministry of Public Health is about to announce a treatment protocol at home through specialist doctors,” he explained.
Dr. Hasan indicated that “the goal of the lockdown is to reduce the daily number of corona infections and limit the spread of the virus after the rate of positive cases rose to 14%, in parallel to increasing the number of intensive care unit beds in hospitals and allowing for break time to ensure the safety of the medical nursing staff.”
He also reiterated the importance of wearing a mask which is equivalent to the effect of the vaccine, “so whoever wears the mask reduces his infection rate with the virus to 10%, while the percentage increases to 70% if two people are sitting together without a mask, and decreases to 30% if only one of them is wearing a mask.”
Referring to the awaited vaccine, the Caretaker Health Minister reassured that Lebanon signed two agreements: the first with the Kovacs global vaccination platform to reserve a quantity for twenty percent of the most vulnerable Lebanese, and the second with Pfizer Company to secure additional vaccines for fifteen percent of citizens, noting that the transfer of the amount needed to cover these orders lies with the Lebanese Central Bank, describing this as “an achievement for Lebanon.”
“A technical committee has been formed to administer the vaccine, as eight storage centers will be approved in the governorates, provided that the Ministry of Public Health will define in all transparency and fairness the groups that need to be vaccinated,” Dr. Hasan went on. He anticipated the Pfizer vaccine to be available during the second month of the upcoming new year.
Touching on the American Ambassador’s stance vis-à-vis the Ministry of Health due to his connection with Hezbollah, Dr. Hasan considered this as being a “politicized position, since health support is a human right and must not be linked to any questioning or doubts, especially with the Ministry’s financial disclosure and guarantee of transparency available on its website.” He also noted that “protecting the Lebanese, displaced Syrians, Palestinian refugees and various residents of Lebanon is not only the responsibility of Lebanon, but the entire international community.”
Referring to private hospitals, Dr. Hasan underlined that “the Ministry of Public Health is carrying out all its duties to support private hospitals and collect their rightful dues, while in turn, these hospitals must play their national and humanitarian role at this critical stage.”
Source: Al-Manar English Website