NNA - Prime Minister, Najib Mikati, on Wednesday inaugurated “Sheikh Mohammed Bin Zayed’s UAE-Lebanese Hospital Center for the Treatment of Coronavirus Patients at Beirut waterfront.

Mikati toured the center accompanied by Minister of Health, Firas Al-Abiad, former Minister, Dr. Ghattas Khoury, the hospital's medical staff, and a large number of media professionals.

The Prime Minister thanked the United Arab Emirates and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed for this generous grant and constant support for Lebanon. “Lebanon can never forget that the UAE keeps giving and cultivating love without expecting anything in return,” he added. 

“A big thank you to His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, and of course we cannot forget that this particular hospital is also the outcome of great endeavors by Prime Minister Saad Hariri. (…) I must also note the great efforts that Minister of Health, Firas Al-Abiad, has been exerting with full professionalism in terms of his work as a doctor and his performance as a minister,” Mikati added. 

“From this very place, I call on citizens to adhere to the government’s health guidelines. (…) God willing, this pandemic will end and this hospital will start dealing with basic matters; maybe it will become a space for dialogue in Lebanon,” Mikati concluded. 

For his part, Minister Abiad thanked the Prime Minister for inaugurating the center. “This important facility has a capacity of approximately 80 beds, and this helps to receive patients,  conduct an evaluation process, and then transfer them to hospitals or give them appropriate treatment,” Abiad said. 

“We’re aware that with the omicron mutant, approximately 70 percent of patients do not need to be hospitalized if they receive the necessary treatment,” he added, noting that the hospitalization cost in this center will be minimal. 

“This will help reduce the mounting burdens on citizens amid the prevailing circumstances,” Abiad concluded. 

=============R.H.