Thursday, the Lebanese Cabinet announced that the total lockdown which was imposed earlier this month will be extending until Feb. 8.

The details of the lockdown have not yet been announced.

According to the Cabinet, the decision was taken in response to a continued increase in COVID-19 infections and a relentless rise in the number of patients needing intensive care.

Countries worldwide are suffering from the repercussions and the strain brought forward from the pandemic. However, the crisis is particularly prevalent in Lebanon, where the pandemic has piled itself on top of an economic collapse and a catastrophic explosion which took place in the Beirut Port in August which brought medical systems to their knees.

Wednesday, Lebanon recorded 4,332 COVID-19 cases and 64 deaths, the third day in a row it recorded record daily deaths. For weeks, the positivity rate has been over 20 percent. 

According to residents, both public and private hospitals in Beirut recieving COVID-19 patients are completely full, with most having to resort to small mountain hospitals to recieve treatment. 

Authorities do not yet know when the first doses of vaccines will arrive to the country. Earlier Wednesday, the World Health Organization (WHO) allocated an additional $34 million to Lebanon's vaccine program.