“We have entered into an agreement with the World Health Organization to reserve Lebanon's share of the possible vaccine for coronavirus, and coordination is underway with Russia to secure a package of the Russian vaccine,” Hasan said in a televised conference.

He added that “money was available from a World Bank loan.”

This comes as Lebanon’s coronavirus cases hit record numbers over the last week in conjunction with the devastating aftermath of the Beirut Port explosion, which has overwhelmed the already fragile health sector.

Russia announced last week that it had started manufacturing its new vaccine, named Sputnik V.

Russia became the first country in the world to license a vaccine when President Vladimir Putin announced its approval ahead of phase 3 testing. It was later announced that large scale testing would proceed, involving some 40,000 people according to the Sputnik V vaccine’s financial backers.

Lebanon Friday began its first day of a stringent two-week lockdown. Restrictions will be implemented from Aug. 21 until Sept. 6, during which curfew will be reinstated from 6 p.m. until 6 a.m. every day.

Lebanon confirmed a record 605 new coronavirus cases and four deaths Thursday. The positivity rate among tests conducted on the local population was 0.82 percent in June and 2.14 percent in July. Thursday the positivity rate, among the local population and travelers, was 9.54 percent.