On Thursday, the former General Director of the ibn Sina Hospital in Sirte, Dr. Abdel-Qader Al-Ammari, passed away. He was suffering from complications, after contracting COVID-19.
The Head of Sirte Municipal Council Salem Amer and a number of doctors and medical staff at Ibn Sina, bid farewell to the deceased doctor. He expressed their heartfelt condolences to his family.
Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) reported 855 new cases in the country, with 384 recoveries, and 12 deaths. This brings the country’s total to 46,676, with 20,310 active cases, 25,685 recoveries, and 681 deaths.
A press conference was held in Tripoli by Dr. Khalifa Al-Bakoush, the Chairman of the ‘Scientific Advisory Committee to Combat the Coronavirus Pandemic’, where he gave an overview of the epidemiological situation in the country.
He claimed that Libya can live with the virus, so long as the public adheres to the precautionary controls. He warned that if the authorities do not succeed in controlling and tightening these measures, the committee will be forced to advise a total lockdown.
Al-Bakoush revealed that daily PCR tests have reached 4,500. He praised the increase in numbers, despite the high costs of PCR analysis estimated at around US$200.
As for reducing the number of deaths, he said this is achieved by increasing the places of filtration, isolation, and care. He added that, “We have reached a large number filtration points, and we have reached about 1,400 beds throughout the country.”
Ultimately, he said Libya had reached a situation where, “It either lives with the virus, or not live, and we would then be in a critical epidemic situation.”