Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Ramadan 17, 1445 H
broken clouds
weather
OMAN
23°C / 23°C
EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Lebanon back in lockdown over coronavirus uptick

1537132
1537132
minus
plus

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s caretaker prime minister on Tuesday announced a fresh two-week lockdown to stem the spread of coronavirus despite a grinding economic crisis that has already battered businesses.


“We’ve reached a stage of critical danger as private and public hospitals don’t have the capacity to receive severe cases’’, Hassan Diab said in a televised address.


He said the lockdown, with limited exemptions, would go into force from Saturday until November 30.


The outgoing premier, who stepped down in the wake of a devastating August 4 explosion at Beirut’s port, said some industries will be excluded from restrictions.


The health sector and other vital industries would also be allowed to operate, he said, without providing details.


The airport too will remain open, Lebanese media cited the Higher Defence Council as saying.


Lebanon, a country of six million people has recorded more than 95,000 COVID-19 cases, including 732 deaths since February.


The number of new cases soared last week with the daily virus tally hitting unprecedented highs several days in a row.


A first country-wide lockdown imposed in March was effective in stemming the spread of the virus, and restrictions were gradually lifted as summer beckoned people outdoors.


But Diab on Tuesday said the blast at Beirut’s port had led Lebanon to “lose control” over its COVID-19 outbreak.


The explosion killed more than 200 people, wounded at least 6,500 others and overwhelmed hospitals in Beirut.


The World Health Organization said at the end of October that 88 per cent of Lebanon’s 306 intensive care beds were occupied. — AFP


SHARE ARTICLE
arrow up
home icon