Lebanon called in the army on Saturday to ensure people stayed at home to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, which has killed four people in the country.
In a televised address, Prime Minister Hassan Diab said the number of cases had risen to 230 there despite a call almost a week ago for all to remain at home.
Warning viewers of a further spike to epidemic levels if people continued to flout social distancing rules, he said the government was calling in the army and security forces.
His administration had asked “the army, Internal Security, General Security and State Security to ... implement the order for citizens not to leave their homes, except out of extreme necessity, and prevent gatherings contravening” the order, Mr Diab said.
This would take the form of patrols and road blocks, and those found disobeying would be pursued.
Helicopters flying low over Beirut called on loud speakers for those out on the streets to return home as the changes came into force and videos on social media showed armed forces talking to residents through megaphones.
Mr Diab again called on all Lebanese citizens to observe the curfew, “as the state cannot face this creeping epidemic on its own”.
Last Sunday, the government ordered everyone to stay at home and all non-essential businesses to close.
Beirut’s airport has been shut since Wednesday.
The Covid-19 pandemic is the latest crisis to hit the country, already reeling from a financial meltdown and months of widespread public discontent.
Officials fear the local health system would struggle to cope if cases soar.
Experts warn the country's healthcare system is ill-prepared, as a financial crisis and dollar shortages have for months drained it of critical supplies.
"The interior ministry and army command ... will announce binding plans that will protect the health of the Lebanese," Diab said on Saturday. "It is a very difficult and tough period. Let us reduce our losses."
Earlier on Saturday, police patrolled several areas of the capital Beirut, using loudspeakers to urge bystanders to go home.
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Syrian Red Crescent vehicles spraying disinfectant along a street in the capital Damascus. AFP -
A man prays outside of a closed mosque, as Friday prayers were suspended following the spread of the coronavirus, in Isa Town south Manama, Bahrain. Reuters -
A Lebanese medic takes the temperature of a suspected coronavirus case at Rafiq Hariri University Hospital in Beirut where coronavirus COVID-19 patients are being treated. AFP -
A military vehicle used to instruct people to return home, is seen in a street in Casblanca, Morocco. AFP -
Shoppers fill a local supermarket shortly after the announcement of a curfew in Amman, Jordan. EPA -
A member of a medical team sprays disinfectant as Iraqi Shiite pilgrims make their way to the tomb of Mousa al-Kadhim to mark his death anniversary in the Kadhimiyah district of Baghdad, Iraq. EPA -
An Iraqi cleric prays in an empty mosque, as Friday prayers were suspended following the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Baghdad, Iraq. Reuters -
The staff of a Palestinian mosque pray at an empty building as all the mosques in the Hebron area are closed amids the coronavirus pandemic. AFP -
A man wearing a protective face mask rests in front of the Sultanahmet Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA -
Palestinian groom Imad Sharaf, wearing gloves and a face mask, accompanies his bride Bara'a Amarneh as they arrive at their home in the village of al-Dahriya, south of Hebron in the West Bank. AFP -
A man walks down an empty street in central Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo -
Staffers of the Syrian Arab Ref Crescent with the cooperation of the Damascus Governorate undertake a massive sterilisation campaign in Damascus, Syria. EPA -
Customers wearing protective face masks queue outside a supermarket in Tunis, Tunisia. EPA -
Members of Morocco's Interior Ministry Auxiliary Forces instruct a man to return home in the capital Rabat, Morocco. AFP -
A cleaning worker wearing a protective suit sits in the entrance of metro station in Algiers, Algeria. Reuters -
An empty street in Algiers, Algeria. EPA -
A Syrian refugee receives sanitisation and cleaning supplies from a representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in the city of Sidon in southern Lebanon. AFP
On the seafront, they pursued and flagged down joggers, pleading with them to head back indoors.
About 900 million people are now confined to their homes in 35 countries around the world – two thirds by government lockdown orders, an AFP tally indicates.
