On Saturday, the Libyan paediatric and public health specialist, Idris Al-Qayed, confirmed that coronavirus cases are dramatically increasing in the country.
He indicated that Libya is on the verge of a real disaster as coronavirus cases and deaths surge, noting that the country’s hospitals and isolation centres have become full as there are almost no beds available for new infected cases.
In a live footage, Al-Qayed said, “The daily number of coronavirus cases in Libya is now 600 to 700 cases; the problem is how to make sure that these cases are infected with coronavirus or not.”
Al-Qayed stressed the importance of keeping social distance among people to stop the epidemic and called on citizens to undergo medical tests only after showing symptoms of the virus.
He stated that coronavirus tests should be primarily available for doctors and all medical staffs. It is simply impossible to organise medical tests for all citizens, therefore, those who are in contact with infected cases are urged to isolate themselves instead of undergoing medical tests.
The public heath specialist indicated that the common symptoms of coronavirus are dry coughs, shortness of breath, fever and general tiredness.
Al-Qayed also confirmed that half of the hospitals in Libya are closed, including the Al-Khadra Hospital and Tripoli Medical Centre.
He suggested giving public hospitals the responsibility to treat and isolate coronavirus patients, while private clinics dedicate themselves to dealing with other diseases.
Al-Qayed called on the Libyans to abide by all preventive measures set by the government in order to avoid the virus infection.
On Saturday, Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control reported 649 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths over the past 24 hours.
In a statement, the NCDC said that the country’s tally now soared to 17,094 confirmed cases, including 272 deaths, and 2,025 recoveries.
Since originating in China in December, the virus has claimed nearly 875,510 lives in 188 countries and regions.
The US, Brazil and India are currently the worst-hit countries.
Over 26.6 million COVID-19 cases have been reported worldwide, with recoveries topping 17.7 million, according to figures compiled by the US’ Johns Hopkins University.