No Result
View All Result
Thursday, July 10, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Libya

Libya’s Coronavirus cases up by two to 63, WHO urges vigilance, stranded repatriation flights start Tuesday

bySami Zaptia
May 4, 2020
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A

By Sami Zaptia.

(NCDC).

London, 4 May 2020:

Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced two new Coronavirus (Covid-19) cases on Friday and four new recoveries on Saturday. The new positive cases had mixed with preexisting cases the NCDC said.

The latest figures bring the country’s total cases to 63, with 22 recoveries and three deaths. Putting this into regional context: On 1 May, Morocco had 4,569 cases , Algeria 4,154, Tunis 994 and Mauritania 8 cases – compared to Libya’s 63.

WHO urges continued vigilance

RELATED POSTS

Five health workers imprisoned for issuing fake Covid-19-free certificates

Derna disaster update: Five Greek aid workers die in road accident, Spanish and Maltese teams return home

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) is urged Health Authorities in Libya on Saturday to exercise caution in the face of the serious health threat posed by COVID-19 in the country.

“Now is not the time to reduce caution,” said Elizabeth Hoff, WHO’s representative in Libya said in the statement. “The low numbers reported should not fool us into a false sense of security. Libya is in the early stages of the epidemic and has not yet reached the height of infection. Until the test becomes more widespread, it will be impossible to ascertain the extent of the disease and its geographical spread.”

Up to Saturday, Libya had tested 1,802 laboratory samples of COVID-19. Of the 63 confirmed patients, 3 have died, 22 have recovered and the rest are still being treated. Tripoli accounts for the majority of cases (48), followed by Misrata (10), Benghazi (4) and Surman (1).

WHO went on to recommend that Libya’s health authorities increase testing capacity by establishing an additional laboratory in south Libya and expanding testing to include patients with influenza-like illnesses and severe acute respiratory infections.

It also said that adequate, regular supplies of testing kits will be essential. Improved disease surveillance and investigation – including in migrant populations – and contact tracing are also important tools to inform and drive the outbreak response.

Hoff said that the key public health measures to tackle COVID-19 were the same in every country: track, test and treat. Patients with confirmed COVID-19 must be isolated, contacts traced, and measures to prevent the disease must continue. While some countries in western Europe are seeing a stabilization or decline in numbers, others are beginning to see a resurgence of cases. Africa, at the beginning of the pandemic, is witnessing an upward trend.

As WHO’s Director-General recently said: “Make no mistake: we have a long way to go. This virus will be with us for a long time.”, concluded the WHO-Libya statement.

Returning citizens stranded abroad

Meanwhile, with the news that as of Tuesday two flights have been scheduled to repatriate the first batch of Libyans, and up to a maximum of three flights per day, the head of the NCDC, Bad Al-din al-Najar, assured Libyan citizens on Sunday that no fellow citizen currently stranded abroad will be allowed to return to Libya until they had undergone preventive measures taken by the state and it was certain that they were free of Corona.

Fears have been expressed by the Libyan public that having kept infections to a minimum, and having endured 6pm to 6am curfews, a sudden flood of repatriations might scupper all the good work done so far. The fear is also based on the news that some of those repatriated in March April had escaped quarantine.

It will be recalled that on 12 April Libya’s Tripoli based Foreign Ministry had announced detailed plans for the repatriation of stranded citizens. On 21 April the Committee formed to conduct the repatriation had announced that the screening and quarantine process had started.

Najar said that the NCDC has taken technical measures regarding the repatriation of Libyan citizens stranded abroad. He pointed out that no Libyan citizen will return until after passing the procedures taken from quarantine for 14 days, and to make sure that they are completely free of Coronavirus through PCR (polymerise chain reaction) screening. Some of those stranded in Istanbul have indeed confirmed these procedures to Libya Herald.

He also revealed that the NCDC was preparing a guide for airlines on how to deal in terms of preventive steps with citizens stranded during their transfer to Libya and that there is coordination between Libya’s Ministry of Transport and the NCDC in the transportation of citizens stranded abroad.

Najar said that the NCDC has prepared monitoring forms to follow-up on the health status of passengers, which will need to be filled-in by returnees inside the aircraft and then handed over to the international health control offices, which will deliver them to the NCDC and through which all travellers will be followed up.

 

https://www.libyaherald.com/2020/04/22/libya-starts-14-day-quarantine-process-and-testing-of-citizens-stranded-abroad-prior-to-repatriation/

 

https://www.libyaherald.com/2020/04/15/libyas-tripoli-based-foreign-ministry-announces-plans-to-repatriate-citizens-stranded-abroad/

 

Tags: Badr Al-Din Al-Najar head of the National Centre for Disease ControlCoronavirus Covid-19 pandemicfeaturedNational Centre for Disease Control NCDCrepatriate repatriationWHO World Health Organization

Related Posts

GNU to take oath at Benghazi HoR session and budget to be approved at Tripoli session: GNU
Libya

Aldabaiba seeking long term partnership not interim solutions on combatting irregular migration

July 10, 2025
Acting Interior Minister Trabelsi taking steps to counter forged ID numbers and passports
Libya

There are 4 million irregular migrants in Libya: Interior Minister Trabelsi

July 10, 2025
GNU to take oath at Benghazi HoR session and budget to be approved at Tripoli session: GNU
Libya

Aldabaiba: Militias have become criminal gangs and a state within the state

July 9, 2025
Libya Herald exclusive: Responding to the prime minister’s call yesterday to the private sector and banks to do more, leading businessman Husni Bey responds
Business

Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

July 2, 2025
Libyan Russian Economic Forum starts in St. Petersburg
Libya

Libyan Russian Economic Forum starts in St. Petersburg

June 27, 2025
MoI establishes Elections Security and Protection Department
Libya

Aldabaiba and Menfi stress use of polling feedback to establish consensus basis for constitutional process: report and analysis

June 26, 2025
Next Post

UNSMIL’s Williams pays tribute to brave Libya journalists on World Press Freedom Day

US ambassador Norland supports HoR head Saleh's democratic process

ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Benghazi port receives 398 containers of mixed goods, 25,000 tons of wheat, 28,500 tons of barley and 6,000 tons of cement

    All imports into Libya must be paid for through official bank transactions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • BP to reopen office in Libya, Shell discusses prospects for cooperation in oil field development‎

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • A 247,000-bpd oil production increase would achieve US$ 6 billion annually to enhance ability to meet FX demand, maintain strength of LD and achieve economic balance: CBL ‎

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libya’s economy showed recovery in 2024, remained resilient despite reliance on hydrocarbons and ongoing political and security instability: World Bank

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund signs contract with Turkey’s Ankamenia for maintenance of Benghazi University’s medical colleges

Libyan olive oils win gold at Anatolian, Berlin and Japan 2025 international olive oil competitions

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.