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Lebanon to start lockdown amid post-holiday COVID-19 surge

Published:Monday | January 4, 2021 | 2:18 PM
A street vendor wearing a mask to help stop the spread of the coronavirus sells face masks in Beirut, Lebanon, Monday, January 4, 2021. Lebanon is gearing up for a new nationwide lockdown, as officials vowed Monday to take stricter measures against the coronavirus following the holiday season, which saw a large increase in infections and caused jitters in the country's already-battered health sector. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein)

BEIRUT (AP) — Lebanon will begin a 25-day nationwide lockdown Thursday to battle a surge in coronavirus infections during the holiday season that has challenged the country’s already battered healthcare sector.

Lebanon’s health and interior ministers announced the new lockdown Monday following hours of government meetings to discuss measures to combat the rise in infections.

A daily curfew will take effect Thursday and last until February 1, from 6:00 p.m. until 5:00 a.m. the ministers said.

They said details would be spelled out in a decree Tuesday.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan said legal action, not just fines, would be taken against violators.

“The pandemic challenge has become a danger to the lives of Lebanese as hospitals are no longer able to provide beds,” he told reporters.

The holiday season has seen the number of new virus cases more than double in Lebanon.

With a flailing economy, the government had relaxed preventive measures hoping to boost economic activity and cash in on visitors’ spending.

The softened restrictions sparked a debate over whether it is the government’s wavering policies or social laxness in implementing social distancing and other preventive measures that is behind the surge.

Nearly 80,000 Lebanese expats have returned home since the beginning of December to celebrate the holidays, including the Armenian Orthodox Christmas on Wednesday.

The festive season, with its increased number of social gatherings, has put pressure on Lebanon’s health care sector.

First responders say they have been transporting nearly 100 patients a day to hospitals that are now reporting near-full occupancy in beds and ICUs.

Nurses say they are overwhelmed and private hospitals have been roped into the national response despite complaints that the cash-strapped government owes them large sums of outstanding debt.

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