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Lebanon asks WHO for additional assistance to confront coronavirus

Lebanon confirmed the first coronavirus case on Friday

February 26, 2020 at 3:45 pm

The Health Committee of the Lebanese Parliament has called on the World Health Organisation (WHO) to provide Lebanon with additional assistance in order to set up quarantine isolation units in a number of Lebanese regions to confront the coronavirus.

The head of the Health Committee in the Lebanese Parliament, Assem Araji, said yesterday that the WHO has helped set up the quarantine department at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital to receive cases infected with coronavirus, adding that Lebanon has asked the organisation to help establish similar isolation units in various regions outside the capital, Beirut.

He pointed out that the health ministry has already taken precautions in order to confront the virus, especially at the Rafic Hariri International Airport where thermal detection and sterilisation devices have been put in place, but the situation requires an increase in the number of medical personnel and staff at the airport.

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“We can confront coronavirus in Lebanon if we take effective preventive measures. There is no cause for panic among citizens if the necessary preventive measures are taken,” he said.

On Friday, Lebanon confirmed the first coronavirus case, noting that the person had been isolated in an equipped quarantine room at the Rafic Hariri University Hospital.