Members of Lebanon’s diaspora test positive for Covid-19 after repatriation

Eleven Lebanese nationals were infected after returning to Beirut from Europe and Africa

Iraqi Army officers salute to a group of doctors and medical staff in central Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo

A member of Kurdish Internal Security stands guard as Kurdish Red Crescent medics check a passenger for Covid-19 symptoms upon arrival from the Syrian capital, at a mobile site just outside Syria's Qamishli airport in the northeastern Hasakeh province. AFP

Palestinian medics use a special ink to mark the fingers of Palestinian workers who cross back from Israel, at Tarqumiya crossing, near the West Bank town of Hebron. EPA

Turkish Members of Parliament wear protective facemasks and share disinfectant gel, as a precaution against coronavirus, during the general assembly meeting of The Grand National Assembly of Turkey in Ankara. AFP

People wearing protective face masks wait at the Marmaray subway station in Istanbul, Turkey. EPA

Fishermen moor their boats during a state of emergency and home confinement orders in Rabat, Morocco. AP Photo

Palestinian bodybuilder Ahmed Tlatini, aged 26, trains at his home in Gaza City. EPA

A Palestinian man bathes his donkey at the sea in the northern Gaza Strip. Reuters

A man plays The national anthem on the flute in a nearly empty street in Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo

People wave national flags in solidarity with the families of those who have died or are ill with the coronavirus and support for doctors and nurses fighting to save them, in central Baghdad, Iraq. AP Photo

Palestinian Hiba Junaidi poses with one of the stray cats she cares for in her house's backyard, which she had turned into a shelter, near the West Bank city of Hebron. AFP

An ambulance drives through Jerash, in Jordan. EPA

Workers of Egyptian non-governmental organisation Egyptian Food Bank prepare cartons with foodstuffs to distribute to people who lost their jobs in the Egyptian capital Cairo. AFP

Egyptian men wearing masks wait outside a centre of non-governmental organisation Egyptian Food Bank to receive cartons with foodstuff in the Egyptian capital Cairo. AFP

Volunteers disinfect an overcrowded housing complex to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Sale, near Rabat, Morocco. AP Photo

A nurse takes a mucus sample from a suspected coronavirus patient at the Rafik Hariri public hospital in the Lebanese capital Beirut. AFP

A Kuwaiti police vehicle is seen at the entrance of Jeleeb Al-Shuyoukh street, south of Kuwait City. EPA

A Saudi nurse checks a patient's temperature at a mobile clinic in the Ajyad Almasafi district in the holy city of Makkah. AFP

An Afghan health worker stands outside the temporary quarantine camps setup by the Red Crescent to prevent the spread of coronavirus at the entrance to the city, during a lockdown in Kandahar, Afghanistan. EPA

Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that 11 passengers who flew back to Lebanon from Spain and France the previous day tested positive for Covid19.

These are the first cases of coronavirus among the hundreds of Lebanese who started flying home on Sunday from Africa and Europe on a special repatriation programme at their own expense.

“Seven out of 108 passengers were infected with Covid-19 on board of a plane that transported expatriates and arrived yesterday from Madrid. Four passengers out of 118 aboard an aircraft arriving from Paris were also confirmed to be infected,” stated the Health Ministry in a press release.

Infected passengers will be taken to hospital while others must self-quarantine for two weeks, the statement said. The Health Ministry will check that those who are not infected respect confinement orders.

Lebanese expatriates started flying in from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ivory Coast and Nigeria on Sunday. Passengers all tested negative until Wednesday, according to local authorities.

Beirut’s international airport has been shut since March 18 in a bid to stop the spread of the coronavirus which has killed 19 people and infected 575 others in the country.

The government fears that it would not be able to deal with a spike in coronavirus cases. For the past six months, local hospitals have been unable to import the usual amounts of medical equipment because of a cash crunch caused by the country’s worst financial crisis in history.

Alexandre Fourzali, a Lebanese businessman based in Lagos, was on one of the first planes to arrive in Beirut on Sunday. He told The National that he was satisfied with the organisation of the trip despite its high price.

“It was very well organised. The crew wore overalls, goggles, masks and gloves,” he said. “You could not walk around the plane without an escort. Toilets were immediately disinfected after use.”

Passengers on his plane were tested for Covid-19 on arrival in Lebanon but people coming from other countries, including Saudi Arabia, were tested before departure by doctors sent by the Lebanese government in advance, said Mr Fourzali. The Health Ministry did not respond to a phone call asking for comment.

“We were escorted by groups of seven people from the plane to the airport,” said Mr Fourzali. Groups were tested and then sent off on a special bus together to a nearby hotel for one night, which was included in the ticket price.

“Tickets cost $1,800 in economy class, which is on average $1,100 higher than average, and $3,800 in business class instead of $2,400,” said Mr Fourzali, who often flies between Beirut and Lagos.

The chairman of Lebanon’s national carrier, Middle East Airlines, Mohamad El-Hout, said in a press conference on Monday that the company’s monthly losses are currently $35 million. “The evacuation plan will cost the company $20 million. The company will not be able to help but we set prices at their (real) cost,” he said.

Mr Fourzali said that there were about 100 passengers in the plane with him, a lower number than usual. This was so that passengers could leave one seat free between each other to respect social distancing measures to limit the spread of Covid-19, he said.

Lebanese citizens in Lagos had to register with their embassy to request permission to return, said Mr Fourzali, who got on the first plane home with his wife because she is pregnant. Priority was also given to the sick and the elderly.

Mr Fourzali is now confined with his wife in their home outside Beirut. Just before he spoke to The National on Tuesday, policemen dropped by to check they were staying indoors.

“They told us to tell them what we wanted from the supermarket so that they could shop for us,” said Mr Fourzali. “I’m impressed. I did not think they would actually come.”