The World Health Organisation (WHO) has warned of the repercussions of the continued closure of health isolation centres in southern Libya and noted that the number of cases in the country has increased by 22%, during the past two weeks.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the United Nations (OCHA) said that the WHO confirmed that more than 5% of samples tested positive. It pointed out that the overall death toll has decreased.
The WHO indicated that all four health isolation centres in southern Libya remain closed. This is due to a lack of staff, personal protective equipment, and supplies. It reported that there were about 60,000 confirmed cases in Libya, including 831 deaths. Figures have rapidly increased from a few hundred in August, to almost around 60,000 at this time.
Stephanie Williams, the United Nations’ acting Libya envoy, told the Security Council that the real number of cases in Libya is almost certainly far higher, and stressed that the country’s healthcare system is “unable to respond.”