Lebanon reopens again after four-day lockdown to beat Covid-19 rise

Restaurants and cafes can operate at 50 per cent capacity but end-of-year high school exams might be cancelled

A woman sits on a bench along the seaside corniche of the Lebanese capital Beirut, as a lockdown imposed by the authorities during the coronavirus pandemic begins to ease. AFP

Lebanon began to again gradually reopen businesses on Monday following four days of severe restrictions brought back to slow the rising number of cases of Covid-19 as people flaunted eased social distancing rules last week, but end-of-year school exams might still be cancelled.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced the “partial reopening” of the country in a speech on Sunday evening, calling on the Lebanese to “be vigilant, to maintain social distancing, and to adhere to prevention and protection guidelines”.

“We do not want this stage to turn into a nightmare,” he added.

The Lebanese government had scheduled a gradual reopening of the country after a six-week-long lockdown announced on March 15. But the move was interrupted last week following a rapid increase in local infections and the emergence of new clusters.

“Over a period of 10 days, the number of new internal cases increased almost five times compared to the 10 previous days,” said Mr Diab on Sunday. “Accordingly, we decided to return to full closure for four days. During this period, the Health Ministry conducted extensive testing, tracking and isolation of all cases,” he said.

• 

  Health Ministry staff conduct random tests for the Covid-19 disease at Imam Al-Hadi Zentrum in the Ouzai area south of Beirut. EPA

• 

  A Lebanese protester, wearing a protective mask bearing a fist, is pictured during a demonstration in the capital Beirut on April 28, 2020. AFP

• 

  A member of the Lebanese Internal Security Forces distributes protective face masks in Hamra street. EPA

• 

  Neighbours listen to music and watch laser projections from their balconies as members of the Lebanese collective "Nuage" perform from the roof of a building to entertain confined residents in their neighbourhood of Dekwaneh. AFP

• 

  Neighbours listen to music and watch laser projections from their balconies as members of the Lebanese collective "Nuage" perform from the roof of a building to entertain confined residents in their neighbourhood of Dekwaneh. AFP

• 

  Runners smile and react to having their picture taken as they run on Beirut's corniche, along the Mediterranean Sea. AP

• 

  Health Ministry staff wear protective face masks and protective suits as they wait to conduct a random tests for the Covid-19. EPA

• 

  Health Ministry staff conduct random tests for the Covid-19 disease at Imam Al-Hadi Zentrum in the Ouzai area south of Beirut. EPA

• 

  A Lebanese drummer wears a protective mask and carries a small drum as he makes his rounds waking Muslims for Suhor, the meal taken during Ramadan before sunrise prayers, amid a lockdown due to the ongoing coronavirus Covid-19 pandemic in Beirut. EPA

• 

  Medical staff at the Saint George Hospital University Medical Centre in charge of Covid-19 coronavirus patients reflections off a window as they listen to music played by a band thanking them for their efforts during the novel coronavirus pandemic. AFP

• 

  A nurse at the Lebanese hospital Notre Dame des Secours shows a heart gesture with her hands as others dance to music played by a band thanking them for their efforts. AFP

• 

  Staff of a Lebanese government hospital dance to music played by a band thanking them for their efforts. AFP

• 

  Staff members of the Lebanese American University Medical Centre-Rizk Hospital, currently dealing with COVID-19 coronavirus patients, look out from windows as they listen to music. AFP

• 

  Palestinian fighters from the Fatah movement, left, wearing masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus, stand guard next to a Palestinian worker from UNRWA who is waiting to spray disinfectant AP

• 

  A Palestinian nurse wears protective equipment to help curb the spread of the coronavirus inside a clinic at Jalil, or Galilee Palestinian refugee camp, in Baalbek. AP

• 

  A Palestinian fighter from the Fatah movement distributes masks for people to help curb the spread of the coronavirus. AP

• 

  Palestinians wearing masks to help curb the spread of the coronavirus stand on their balcony watching the arrival of the Lebanese health minister at Jalil, or Galilee Palestinian refugee camp, in Baalbek. AP

• 

  A health worker dressed in a protective outfit walks in an alley at the Wavel Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa Valley. AFP

On Sunday, the Health Ministry had recorded a total of 911 cases of Covid19 in Lebanon, including 17 new cases in the past 24 hours. Although not comparable to the tens of thousands in other countries, it is a high figure in the small Mediterranean nation that has been relatively spared by the pandemic in recent months. The number of deaths remained stable at 26.

“Lebanon has succeeded in staying in the phase of containment since the outbreak of the virus and our goal is to remain at this stage,” said Mr Diab, who highlighted that tougher measures had been put in place to control the return of thousands of Lebanese expatriates despite the closure of the airport on March 18.

“We adopted tougher measures to reduce the percentage of positive cases from returnees by imposing PCR tests in some countries, intensifying the follow-up internally and repeating the PCR test on the 14h day of their arrival,” said Mr Diab referring to the most common swab method of screening for Covid-19.

In a decree, the Interior Ministry said on Sunday that the nightly curfew from 7pm to 5am would remain as well as a system to allow odd and even number plate cars on the road on alternate days. All cars can be driven on Sunday.

The Interior Ministry said restaurants and cafes can open at 50 per cent capacity but forbid them from serving the narguileh, or water pipe, which is particularly popular in the evening during Ramadan. Gathering along Beirut's corniche, swimming in the sea, going to the gym or the park remains banned.

In parallel, the Education Minister Tarek Al Majzoub announced on Sunday that he was considering cancelling the 2020 secondary school exams, or baccalaureate.

“All students will move on to the higher grade according to regulations. And for universities, we will set up a special mechanism for distance learning,” he said.

“Preserving peoples’ lives is a priority and we will make for what we lost this year in the next academic year,” said Mr Al Majzoub.

Local media reported that the education minister’s proposals must be approved by the Cabinet.

On Monday, the hashtag “the fate of Lebanese students” was trending on Twitter, with many students worrying over their academic future.

Many highlighted that the coronavirus pandemic was only the latest crisis to hit Lebanese universities that have been paralysed in recent years by repeated strikes as well as the nation-wide anti-government protests that shook the country last October, spurred by Lebanon’s worst-ever economic crisis.

“I have been a student at the Lebanese University for three years and praise be to God not a single year has been normal and ended peacefully,” tweeted Christelle El Chaer, a journalism student at the Lebanese University, the country’s only public university.