Lebanon in lockdown

Not even grocery shopping allowed until January 25

Afull lockdown started in Lebanon yesterday, with residents barred even from grocery shopping, in a bid to slow a surge in cases.

The lockdown, ordered after some hospitals started to run out of intensive care beds, includes a 24-hour curfew until January 25. Non-essential workers are barred from leaving their homes, and supermarkets are supposed to operate delivery services only.

Those wishing to request an emergency exemption — to see a doctor for example — can do so by sending a mobile phone text message or by filling in a form online.

In the capital, roads were quieter than usual on Thursday morning, while non-essential shops remained shuttered.

But in areas of Beirut where there were no security forces, some people ventured out to buy groceries from local shops.

Health minister infected

The strict lockdown came into effect after caretaker health minister Hamad Hasan was admitted to hospital for treatment for Covid-19 on Wednesday, state media said.

Its announcement on Monday raised fears of food shortages in impoverished and remote regions where deliveries are not readily available. For several days, Lebanese flooded supermarkets and chemists in a desperate bid to stock up.

1,781 deaths since February

Recent days have seen Lebanon register record daily Covid-19 caseloads in one of the steepest increases in transmission worldwide. In total, it has announced 237,132 cases since February last year, including 1,781 deaths.

Cases skyrocketed after authorities loosened restrictions during the holiday season, allowing restaurants and night clubs to remain open until 3:00 am, despite warnings from health professionals.

A partial lockdown in place since January 7 has failed to halt the spread of the virus.

Lebanon, a country of more than six million, was already grappling with its worst economic downturn in decades when the pandemic hit.

Previous lockdowns have forced businesses to close and deprived daily wage earners of an income in a country where more than half the population lives in poverty.

AFP Policemen control cars at a checkpoint on the Fuad Shahab bridge in Beirut on the first day of the lockdown yesterday.

Source: www.worldometers.info

Reuters An empty street in Hazmiyeh, Lebanon, yesterday as Lebanon began a 24-hour lockdown until January 25 as some hospitals run out of intensive care beds and cases continue to surge.