Lebanon Details Restrictions during Lockdown to Contain COVID-19

By Staff, Agencies

Lebanon imposed restrictions on travelers into the country and sharply cut the capacity of government departments and other vital institutions, including banks, during a national lockdown to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.

Lebanon will go into lockdown from Jan. 7 to Feb. 1 with a daily 6 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew after COVID-19 cases rose dramatically in the past week.

All travelers arriving at Beirut's international airport from Thursday will undergo PCR tests and the number of passengers will be cut to 20 percent of that of January 2020, a statement from the prime minister's office said. Crossings into the country through the land border will also be dramatically limited and only allowed on two days per week.

All ministries, government department and other essential service providers like electricity and telecommunications will work at a maximum 25 percent capacity. The Central Bank and commercial lenders can work at 20 percent capacity.

The government also ordered all private hospitals to increase the number of ICUs.

Excluded from the curbs are pharmacies, medical workers and journalists. Supermarkets, bakeries, grocery stores, and butchers and restaurant deliveries can operate from 5 a.m. till 5 p.m. Wholesale vegetable and meat markets can open from 5 a.m. till noon.

The lockdown comes as the number of COVID-19 cases approach 200,000 with nearly 1,500 deaths.

Meanwhile, President Michel Aoun and Caretaker Prime Minister Hassan Diab approved the Health Minister Hamad Hasan's request for authorization to sign the contract with Pfizer in order to secure the COVID-19 vaccine, in accordance with the condition set out by the company.

Hasan is now expected to sign the contract this week to import around 2.1 million doses of the vaccine, with the first batch or some 60,000 doses set to arrive by mid-February.