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Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan speaks during a press conference at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in the southern outskirts of the capital Beirut, on February 22, 2020. - Lebanon confirmed on February 21, the first case of the novel coronavirus, found in a 45-year-old Lebanese woman who had travelled from the holy city of Qom in Iran, while two other cases were being investigated. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) / “The erroneous mention[s] appearing in the metadata of this photo by ANWAR AMRO has been modified in AFP systems in the following manner: [Hamad Hassan] instead of [Hassan Hamad]. Please immediately remove the erroneous mention[s] from all your online services and delete it (them) from your servers. If you have been authorized by AFP to distribute it (them) to third parties, please ensure that the same actions are carried out by them. Failure to promptly comply with these instructions will entail liability on your part for any continued or post notification usage. Therefore we thank you very much for all your attention and prompt action. We are sorry for the inconvenience this notification may cause and remain at your disposal for any further information you may require.”
Lebanese Health Minister Hamad Hassan speaks during a press conference at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital in the southern outskirts of the capital Beirut, on February 22, 2020. AFP

Jordanian engineer becomes Lebanese minister of health on Twitter

Men with same name cause confusion on social media outlet

The National

March 04, 2021

Jordanian engineer Hasan Hamad is being bombarded with hundreds of Twitter messages a day intended for Lebanon's health minister, who has the same name.

Mr Hamad said he has been receiving messages intended for the health minister since April last year, but the number of misdirected messages and comments soared after the start of Lebanon's Covid-19 vaccination campaign last month. The messages ranged from enquiries to requests, he told Lebanon's MTV channel.

Finally, he tagged the Lebanese Mr Hassan in a tweet saying he had been receiving hundreds of messages for the health minister each day, and asked him to respond.

"After the start of the pandemic, the focus was on health ministers in general, and to my good fortune or bad, there was a similarity of names between me and the Lebanese minister of health," he told MTV.

  • A patient with Covid-19 symptoms is checked by a staff member at Saint George Hospital in Lebanon's capital Beirut. Getty
    A patient with Covid-19 symptoms is checked by a staff member at Saint George Hospital in Lebanon's capital Beirut. Getty
  • A person is silhouetted behind a door near the coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    A person is silhouetted behind a door near the coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • A patient in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    A patient in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • Paramedics rest in an ambulance parked outside the Emergency Department at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    Paramedics rest in an ambulance parked outside the Emergency Department at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • A patient is moved in the Coronavirus Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    A patient is moved in the Coronavirus Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • Staff members work in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    Staff members work in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • Oday Hamad, a nurse at the Coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital poses for a portrait. Tom Nicholson for The National
    Oday Hamad, a nurse at the Coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital poses for a portrait. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • Tatiana Chahine, a nurse at the Coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital poses for a portrait. Tom Nicholson for The National
    Tatiana Chahine, a nurse at the Coronavirus intensive care unit at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital poses for a portrait. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • Staff members work in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    Staff members work in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
  • A patient is moved in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
    A patient is moved in the Emergency Room at the American University of Beirut (AUB) Hospital. Tom Nicholson for The National
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