BEIRUT (AP) – Lebanese authorities have begun applying for an 11-day nationwide shutdown and demanded on Thursday, hoping to limit the spread of coronavirus infections that get out of control after the holiday season.
For the first time, residents were asked to apply for a one-hour permit to be allowed to leave the house for “emergencies”, including going to the bakery, pharmacist, doctor, hospital or airport.
Authorities have come under pressure to take a tougher approach after hospitals in the country ran out of beds, with daily infections reaching a record 5,440 cases last week in the country, with nearly 6 million people.
The dramatic increase in infections began in late December. While most governments around the world have tightened blockades, Lebanon has relaxed health measures over the holidays, allowing restaurants and nightclubs to reopen with few restrictions. An estimated 80,000 expatriates have returned to the country to celebrate Christmas and New Year with their loved ones, many of them expats who did not visit in the summer due to the devastating August 4 explosion at the port of Beirut.
“The holiday season should have been the closing time. The season of crowds, shopping and parties, ”said Hanna Azar, owner of a money and telephone transfer store. “They opened it to allow the dollars to enter the country and now they want to close, especially in this economic crisis. People don’t have money for food. “
Even before the coronavirus, Lebanon was going through an unprecedented economic and financial crisis, which saw its national currency and its banking sector collapse its depositors. Hospitals, long considered among the best in the Middle East, have struggled to pay staff, keep equipment running and provide the necessary medical supplies as the dollar has risen.
Against the background of growth, many hospitals have now reached their maximum capacity for coronavirus patients. Some stopped elective operations while running out of beds, oxygen tanks and fans.
Moreover, the country has been without a government since the old one resigned following the catastrophic explosion on August 4 at the port of Beirut, which put additional pressure on hospitals, flooding them with injuries. At least three hospitals were destroyed.
The massive explosion caused by the detonation of a poorly stored ammonium nitrate deposit devastated the city, killing more than 200 people and injuring thousands.
On Thursday, police checked checkpoints across the country, checking drivers’ permits to be on the road and creating blockages in some cases. The extinction of time is the strictest since the beginning of the pandemic. For the first time, even supermarkets were told to close their doors and open only for delivery. This decision triggered three days of chaotic panic buying, while worried citizens emptied the shelves of supermarkets and grocery stores.
Lebanon had just announced a nationwide blockade last week. But many, including the health minister and government committee officials, thought it was too lenient because it exempted many sectors. In some areas of the country, it worked as usual, which led to several calls for a complete shutdown and a coverage time.