WHO: Libya needs to be vigilant against Coronavirus pandemic

“Now is not the time to lower our guard. The low numbers being reported must not lull us into a false sense of security. Libya is in the early stages of the pandemic and has not yet reached the peak of infection,” Elizabeth Hoff, WHO representative in Libya, said in a statement released Sunday.

The WHO also recommended health authorities in Libya to increase testing capacity by establishing an additional laboratory in southern Libya and expand testing range to patients with influenza-like illness and severe acute respiratory infections.

“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,” the agency said.

Ahmed Al-Marghani, awareness programs official of the Libyan National Center for Disease Control, said on Saturday that home quarantines and curfews in Libya are aiming to control the coronavirus, explaining that the country is still faced with risks in the spread of the pandemic.

The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 63, including 22 recoveries and three deaths, according to the center.

Libyan authorities have imposed a curfew, banned public gatherings and travel between cities, and closed borders in order to fight the pandemic.