Of the new cases, 435 cases were locally transmitted and only three cases were detected among travelers from abroad. There have been a total of 167 deaths due to coronavirus since the illness was first detected on Feb. 21.

New cases were detected among 5,446 PCR tests administered in the last 24 hours, bringing the positivity rate to 8.5 percent.

“Winter is coming. Covid numbers are too high. Foreign aid will not flow in forever,” Head of Rafik Hariri University Hospital Dr. Firass Abiad warned in a series of tweets.

Lebanon relaxed its lockdown measures Friday following mounting pressure from individuals and businesses struggling as a result of the worst economic crisis the country has seen since the Civil War.

For months, Lebanon has been debating whether to prioritize public health in the knowledge that the health sector would not be able to cope with a full-scale outbreak, or negate this in favor of buttressing the economy at a time when it is already on its knee

“A strategy with clear tradeoffs, based on science and collective before personal interests, endorsed by all, is needed. Then all have to comply, or else. Otherwise, it will be a harsh winter,” he said.