With Faith, Perseverance and Altruism, Hezbollah Will Prevail in the Battle against COVID-19

By Fatima Haydar

Beirut – The coronavirus disease or the COVID-19 is an infectious disease caused by a new virus. It causes respiratory illness [like the flu] with symptoms such as a cough, fever, and in more severe cases, difficulty breathing.

The coronavirus spreads primarily through contact with an infected person when they cough or sneeze. It also spreads when a person touches a surface or object that has the virus on it, then touches their eyes, nose, or mouth.

So far, there is no vaccine or specific antiviral treatment for COVID-19. Though, management involves treatment of symptoms, supportive care, isolation, and experimental measures.

To this end, Hezbollah mobilized some 25,000 people including frontline medics and readied hospitals as part of a plan to help confront the coronavirus in Lebanon.

Hezbollah Secretary General His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah declared Hezbollah’s readiness “to provide everything the Ministry of Health, the involved ministries, or the state require from us”.

Darin Nasser, Head of the Department of Programs and Guidance in Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Society told al-Ahed News that approximately 17487 volunteers, including doctors and nurses, have been deployed all over Lebanon, to train and assist in this pandemic.

Furthermore, the Resistance group has dedicated a hospital in Beirut it owns – the Saint George Hospital – to treating coronavirus patients, rented four disused hospitals, prepared 32 medical centers across Lebanon and laid plans for three field hospitals if needed. It has also rented hotels to be used for quarantine.

On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization [WHO] declared the 2019–20 coronavirus outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and a pandemic on 11 March 2020.

To stay safe, people are advised to follow the recommended measures to prevent infection which include frequent hand washing, social distancing [maintaining physical distance from others, especially from those with symptoms], covering coughs and sneezes with a tissue or inner elbow, and keeping unwashed hands away from the face.

For her part, Fatima Fakih, Head of the Department of Mental Health at the Islamic Health Society, advised Lebanese to “abide by the recommended measures, which are being circulated on social media platforms and by organizations, as well as the Ministry of Health,” adding that “quarantine is not a punishment for people, but it is necessary for their protection”.  

Hopefully this global pandemic will end soon… We pray to God to take away the fear, anxiety and feeling of isolation from people receiving treatment or under quarantine. And protect people who are more likely than others to become severely ill from COVID-19 – the elderly and people with chronic health conditions – from harm.

We pray that God renew the energy of healthcare workers and first responders – who are working longer hours with fewer supplies and with more risk of contracting the new coronavirus themselves – and sustain them on long shifts. May Gog bring His protection upon them as they work with patients.

Remember, healthcare workers are staying at hospitals and medical facilities for our welfare, so what we can do is stay home for them!