Lebanon’s pandemic fighter restores faith in public sector
BEIRUT: Dr Firass Abiad was a little-known Beirut hospital director until the coronavirus pandemic propelled him into the spotlight and restored at least some faith in Lebanon’s much-maligned public sector. At a time when the country has also been mired in its deepest economic crisis in decades and rocked by runaway inflation and violent street protests, Abiad has emerged as a comforting voice of reason amid the chaos. Before the COVID-19 crisis hit, his Rafic Hariri University Hospital was synonymous with labour strikes over unpaid wages and regarded as a last resort for the neediest patients who have no health insurance.
But since the first coronavirus case was reported in Lebanon in February, Abiad’s hospital has taken centre-stage in battling a disease that has infected 4,885 people and cost 62 lives across the country. His prolific Twitter feed has since become a point of reference for Lebanese for its near daily updates and commentary on the pandemic. On a typical recent workday, 52-year-old Abiad inspected an outdoors testing centre and then checked in via video call with his staff, wearing full protective gear inside the coronavirus ward.
Playing down his newfound celebrity, a local equivalent of that surrounding US top infectious diseases specialist Anthony Fauci, the American University of Beirut (AUB) graduate spoke to AFP in
measured tones. “I’m only doing what should be expected of all public sector employees,” said the gastrointestinal and bariatric surgeon, who has headed the hospital since 2015. The spotlight should instead be on his team, he argued, and on a rare functioning institution “in a country that lacks them”.
Twitter ‘influencer’
The virus struck as Lebanon is mired in its worst economic crisis since the 1975-1990 civil war and authorities appear paralysed by endless political deadlock over ever deteriorating public services. As power cuts peaked at around 15 hours a day in July and fuel for the hospital’s generators started to run out, Abiad was forced to close down two of its six operating theatres and postpone surgeries.
But just one tweet from him was enough to spark a flurry of donations. In a country long stymied by entrenched sectarianism and cronyism, Abiad has been held up as an example of a public sector employee who puts the interests of others first. After images circulated online last month of a crowd of people queuing to be tested at the hospital, Abiad swiftly acknowledged the need for better social distancing.
Activist Dona Maallawi, 29, praised Abiad’s nononsense communication style, saying “he issues near daily updates about the situation, without embellishments but rather with clear knowledge of the details”. The hospital director himself says he finds such praise “annoying” and despairs at such low expectations of the public sector. In between his duties, Abiad takes to Twitter to dispense advice on how to avoid a worst-case scenario that would overwhelm Lebanese hospitals, correcting any misinformation with tact and diplomacy. — AFP