Lebanon has said that a 24-hour lockdown imposed earlier this month to combat Covid-19 infections overwhelming its medical systems would be extended by two weeks.

The tight restrictions on movement across the country, which had been due to run until Monday, will stay in place until Feb 8, the cabinet said in a statement.

It said the decision was taken in response to a continued increase in Covid-19 infections and a relentless rise in the number of patients needing intensive care.

A day earlier, the health ministry reported 4,332 new cases of the coronavirus and 64 new deaths in Lebanon, raising the cumulative number of confirmed cases to more than 250,000 in a country of around 6 million people.