Coronavirus: Lebanon reports first COVID-19 cases in Palestinian Ain al-Hilweh camp
Two people have been infected with coronavirus in the Ain al-Hilweh camp in Lebanon, the first cases in the country's largest Palestinian refugee camp, according to the United Nations as quoted by the official Lebanese National News Agency (NNA).
Lebanese health authorities are bracing for a second coronavirus wave in the country as mass demonstrations take place in the wake of the Beirut explosion that killed at least 154 people and injured thousands.
Lebanon had already been experiencing a second rise in coronavirus cases, with weekly numbers rising to levels not seen since the first onset of the pandemic.
Authorities recorded the highest daily increase since the first case was confirmed in February last week, with 279 new coronavirus cases on Friday.
Fears have also been raised over the potential for rapid transmission of the virus in densely population Syrian and Palestinian refugee camps in the country, but until Tuesday no cases had been officially reported in Ain al-Hilweh, which is home to an estimated 120,000 refugees close to the Lebanese city of Sidon.
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