Lebanon confirmed two new deaths and 57 coronavirus cases on Thursday At the start of July, the number of those who needed to be hospitalized increased by 82 percent The head of Lebanon’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital called on lockdown measures to be tightened as coronavirus cases in the country rise, local paper The Daily Star reported. Hospital chief, Firass Abiad, told the local daily on Thursday that the government needed to reinforce restrictive measures to curb the surge of infections. “The response to coronavirus needs to be fast. We should start tightening these restrictions now,” he said. Lebanon confirmed two new deaths and 57 coronavirus cases on Thursday, bringing the total number of registered infections in the country to 2,599, with a total number of 40 deaths. The crisis-hit country experienced a surge in new infections after its airport reopened two weeks ago. At the start of July, the number of those who needed to be hospitalized increased by 82 percent, while admissions to intensive care increased by 33 percent, according to data from the Health Ministry. “The situation is worrisome as we are seeing numbers that we are not seeing before” Abiad said, adding that the ministerial committee for coronavirus should decide on the measures needed.