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By Sami Zaptia.
London, 1 April 2020:
Libya’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) announced late last night the confirmation of two new cases of Coronavirus (Covid-19). This brings the country’s total confirmed cases to ten. The first case had been announced on 24 March.
Libya’s official Coronavirus cases
| Date of announcement | Number of cases | |
| 1 | 24 March | 1 |
| 2 | 28 March | 2 |
| 3 | 29 March | 5 |
| 4 | 31 March | 2 |
| Total: | 10 |
The NCDC did not reveal the locations of the two new cases nor their identity. It said it had received a total of 11 suspected samples for analysis yesterday and confirmed that the remaining samples had proven negative in tests.
It will be recalled that sources had revealed to Libya Herald yesterday that Libya’s first Coronavirus patient had been released from the Al-Hadba Al-Khadra hospital having recovered. His case is still shrouded in somewhat of a mystery with some medical sources doubting that he ever did contract Coronavirus.
The patient was a 73-year-old man who had returned from a visit to Saudi Arabia on 5 March. Initially, the man was reported to have hailed from the western Libyan town of Aljmail. Subsequently, local media and his brother revealed they were a well-known family from Tripoli.
The new announced cases come as fighting continues between forces defending Tripoli and parts of the western region that are still under the control of the internationally recognized Libyan government in Tripoli, and the Khalifa Hafter Libyan National Army (LNA). The international community continues to call for a truce in order for the country to focus on fighting the Coronavirus.
Reacting today to the new Coronavirus cases announced yesterday, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs-Libya (OCHA) said today ‘‘ongoing fighting must stop immediately to allow health authorities and aid agencies contain further spread of the outbreak’’.
Meanwhile, Libya’s stoppage in oil production continues since 17 January with the state National Oil Corporation (NOC) announcing Monday that losses from potential oil revenues have now reached US$ 3.8 bn.
