Empty roads along Beirut's Ramlet Al Bayda seafront after Lebanon imposed a lockdown from November 14-30 to contain coronavirus infections. EPA
Empty roads along Beirut's Ramlet Al Bayda seafront after Lebanon imposed a lockdown from November 14-30 to contain coronavirus infections. EPA
Empty roads along Beirut's Ramlet Al Bayda seafront after Lebanon imposed a lockdown from November 14-30 to contain coronavirus infections. EPA
Empty roads along Beirut's Ramlet Al Bayda seafront after Lebanon imposed a lockdown from November 14-30 to contain coronavirus infections. EPA

Lebanon enters two-week lockdown as Covid-19 cases surge


Sunniva Rose
  • English
  • Arabic

Lebanon entered a new two-week lockdown on Saturday as hospitals said they were running out of space for new Covid-19 patients.

The head of Lebanon’s largest public hospital  tweeted on Saturday that he was unable to accept the transfer of patients from other hospitals in the past days “due to full occupancy”.

“In today’s morning report, six Covid cases, four in critical condition, are admitted but still in the emergency department, waiting for a vacant bed,” said Firass Abiad, director of Rafik Hariri University Hospital.

Dr Abiad tweeted that with 73 deaths as a result of Covid-19 last week, Lebanon recorded its highest weekly death rate since the beginning of the pandemic.

Starting Saturday, a night-time curfew was extended from 5pm to 5am, instead of 9pm to 5am. Odd and even number-plate cars will be allowed on the roads on alternate days. The airport, as well as supermarkets and pharmacies, remain open.

Gyms, malls and restaurants, which used to be able to operate at 50 per cent capacity, are closed. Supermarkets and restaurants can continue delivering food and grocery items to homes, except on Sundays.

Caretaker interior minister Mohammad Fahmi caused a public outcry when he said during a live TV interview on Friday that women should cook more on Sundays instead of ordering food. “It’s good for health and helps lose weight,” he said.

Activists accused Mr Fahmi of misogyny.

“No thanks, I have better things to do. Patriarchy alive and well in Lebanon,” tweeted Human Rights Watch Lebanon researcher Aya Majzoub.

The last time Lebanon experienced such measures was in March and April, at the start of the pandemic in the country.

Caretaker health minister Hamad Hassan told local television station LBCI that the rate of compliance with the new confinement measures reached 90 per cent across the country on Saturday.

The total number of Covid-19 cases passed 100,000 on Thursday, with 775 deaths in total.

The head of the parliamentary health committee told The National early in November that "between 90 and 95 per cent of intensive care unit beds for coronavirus patients are full".

At the time, MP Assem Araji said that a two-week lockdown was needed so that hospitals could increase their capacity of ICU beds, which currently number about 300. He warned that Lebanon’s medical sector was “most likely going to collapse”.

Lebanese hospitals are reeling from a year-long financial crisis that has limited their ability to import medical equipment. The state is also late on payments to private hospitals.

Sleiman Haroun, the head of the syndicate of private hospitals, told Human Rights Watch in March that the government owed private hospitals an estimated $1.3 billion in unpaid bills since 2011.

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Coronavirus around the world

  • A healthcare worker takes a swab sample from a man to be tested for Covid-19 in Mexico City, Mexico. Reuters
    A healthcare worker takes a swab sample from a man to be tested for Covid-19 in Mexico City, Mexico. Reuters
  • Jorge Ortiz, general manager of Perches Funeral Homes, displays a photo of deceased colleague Bishop Harrison Johnson, who died on October 15 due to Covid-19 complications, in El Paso, Texas, USA. AFP
    Jorge Ortiz, general manager of Perches Funeral Homes, displays a photo of deceased colleague Bishop Harrison Johnson, who died on October 15 due to Covid-19 complications, in El Paso, Texas, USA. AFP
  • A Testing centre specialist uses a stick to retrieve tests at a drive-in Covid-19 testing site in south Los Angeles, California. AFP
    A Testing centre specialist uses a stick to retrieve tests at a drive-in Covid-19 testing site in south Los Angeles, California. AFP
  • Students from the government girls hostel prepare to burn a Covid-19 coronavirus modes during Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in Hyderabad. AFP
    Students from the government girls hostel prepare to burn a Covid-19 coronavirus modes during Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights, in Hyderabad. AFP
  • Elderly people in the 'Hug Room' in nursing home Domenico Sartor at Castelfranco Veneto, near Venice, Italy. EPA
    Elderly people in the 'Hug Room' in nursing home Domenico Sartor at Castelfranco Veneto, near Venice, Italy. EPA
  • Subway riders navigate their evening commute as the global outbreak of Covid-19 continues, in New York City. Reuters
    Subway riders navigate their evening commute as the global outbreak of Covid-19 continues, in New York City. Reuters
  • Majesty Davis, 3, cries while visiting Santa Claus, who sits behind a plexiglass divider, at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Reuters
    Majesty Davis, 3, cries while visiting Santa Claus, who sits behind a plexiglass divider, at the Willow Grove Park Mall in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Reuters
  • A worker sprays disinfectant at an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters
    A worker sprays disinfectant at an apartment in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Reuters
  • People gather on Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia. Bloomberg
    People gather on Manly Beach in Sydney, Australia. Bloomberg
  • Two women walk on the deserted corniche along the Mediterranean Sea, as Lebanon began a two-week lockdown, in Beirut. AP Photo
    Two women walk on the deserted corniche along the Mediterranean Sea, as Lebanon began a two-week lockdown, in Beirut. AP Photo
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The specs

Price, base / as tested Dh12 million

Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16

Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto

Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm

Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds

Top speed 420 kph (governed)

Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)

How it works

1) The liquid nanoclay is a mixture of water and clay that aims to convert desert land to fertile ground

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Silent Hill f

Publisher: Konami

Platforms: PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, PC

Rating: 4.5/5

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The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre 6-cyl turbo

Power: 374hp at 5,500-6,500rpm

Torque: 500Nm from 1,900-5,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 8.5L/100km

Price: from Dh285,000

On sale: from January 2022 

TRAP

Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue

Director: M Night Shyamalan

Rating: 3/5

Jetour T1 specs

Engine: 2-litre turbocharged

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Three-day coronation

Royal purification

The entire coronation ceremony extends over three days from May 4-6, but Saturday is the one to watch. At the time of 10:09am the royal purification ceremony begins. Wearing a white robe, the king will enter a pavilion at the Grand Palace, where he will be doused in sacred water from five rivers and four ponds in Thailand. In the distant past water was collected from specific rivers in India, reflecting the influential blend of Hindu and Buddhist cosmology on the coronation. Hindu Brahmins and the country's most senior Buddhist monks will be present. Coronation practices can be traced back thousands of years to ancient India.

The crown

Not long after royal purification rites, the king proceeds to the Baisal Daksin Throne Hall where he receives sacred water from eight directions. Symbolically that means he has received legitimacy from all directions of the kingdom. He ascends the Bhadrapitha Throne, where in regal robes he sits under a Nine-Tiered Umbrella of State. Brahmins will hand the monarch the royal regalia, including a wooden sceptre inlaid with gold, a precious stone-encrusted sword believed to have been found in a lake in northern Cambodia, slippers, and a whisk made from yak's hair.

The Great Crown of Victory is the centrepiece. Tiered, gold and weighing 7.3 kilograms, it has a diamond from India at the top. Vajiralongkorn will personally place the crown on his own head and then issues his first royal command.

The audience

On Saturday afternoon, the newly-crowned king is set to grant a "grand audience" to members of the royal family, the privy council, the cabinet and senior officials. Two hours later the king will visit the Temple of the Emerald Buddha, the most sacred space in Thailand, which on normal days is thronged with tourists. He then symbolically moves into the Royal Residence.

The procession

The main element of Sunday's ceremonies, streets across Bangkok's historic heart have been blocked off in preparation for this moment. The king will sit on a royal palanquin carried by soldiers dressed in colourful traditional garb. A 21-gun salute will start the procession. Some 200,000 people are expected to line the seven-kilometre route around the city.

Meet the people

On the last day of the ceremony Rama X will appear on the balcony of Suddhaisavarya Prasad Hall in the Grand Palace at 4:30pm "to receive the good wishes of the people". An hour later, diplomats will be given an audience at the Grand Palace. This is the only time during the ceremony that representatives of foreign governments will greet the king.

Profile of Udrive

Date started: March 2016

Founder: Hasib Khan

Based: Dubai

Employees: 40

Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.

Sarfira

Director: Sudha Kongara Prasad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Radhika Madan, Paresh Rawal 

Rating: 2/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo

Power: 258hp from 5,000-6,500rpm

Torque: 400Nm from 1,550-4,000rpm

Transmission: Eight-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.1L/100km

Price: from Dh362,500

On sale: now