Still in shock after the blast that devastated neighborhoods in Beirut on August 4, the Lebanese are re-confined on Friday August 21 after a peak in Covid-19 contaminations.
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To this measure taken for two weeks is added a curfew from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m., in order to cope with record rates of contamination in recent days, bringing the toll since the start of the epidemic in Lebanon to 10,952 cases, including 113 deaths. The re-containment will last until September 7.
A first month-long confinement was imposed in mid-March, before being gradually lifted, but the airport did not reopen until July 1 with reduced activity. A new containment was imposed at the end of July but lasted only five days because the day of the explosion was lifted. Beirut Airport is operating normally.
The authorities fear that the health sector will struggle to respond to a new peak in virus infections, especially as some hospitals near the port have been badly damaged.
The re-containment will not affect the clean-up and rescue efforts in the neighborhoods most affected by the explosion, according to the authorities. Food stores, supermarkets and other businesses can remain open, but they must observe preventive measures. Ministries and public institutions will remain open, with only 50% of civil servants.
The Covid-19 pandemic has only accentuated the unprecedented economic crisis in Lebanon, with soaring inflation, draconian restrictions on dollar withdrawals and thousands of people who have lost their jobs or a large part of their income . Even before the explosion of a huge amount of ammonium nitrate stored at the port, the rate of the population considered poor doubled with the crisis, according to UN estimates.
