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Review
. 2021 Dec;16(1):1871798.
doi: 10.1080/19932820.2021.1871798.

COVID-19 epidemic in Libya

Amin Bredan  1 , Omran Bakoush  2
Affiliations
Review

COVID-19 epidemic in Libya

Amin Bredan et al. Libyan J Med. 2021 Dec.

Abstract

The first case of COVID-19 was identified in Libya on 24/3/2020, and about 2 months later, the number of reported COVID-19 cases started to increase notably. The outbreak was first prominent in the southern region (Sabha) and then spread to the western and eastern parts of Libya. By 24/12/2020, the reported total number of deaths from COVID-19 reached 1415. There seems to be no published data on the size of the epidemic in Libya. Here, we estimated the number of Libyans exposed to COVID-19 by using a COVID-19 mortality adjusted mathematical model for the spread of infectious diseases. We estimated that 14-20% of the Libyan population have been exposed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Thus, the risk of spread of COVID-19 infections during the coming months is high, and a considerable number of Libyans, particularly the elderly and people with chronic diseases, should be protected against COVID-19 infection. This is particularly urgent in the light of unofficial reports that the relevant healthcare facilities are under extreme stress.

Keywords: COVID-19; Libya; epidemic spread; modeling.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The estimated number of active COVID-19 cases over time based on two scenarios
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Cumulative number of COVID-19 deaths over time based on two scenarios
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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