The Lebanese government announced on Friday March 26 a total confinement of three days during the Catholic Easter which takes place in early April, in order to avoid a new upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the country.
Lebanon and its six million inhabitants have recorded record numbers of new coronavirus contaminations since the start of the year.
A total of 455,381 cases, including 6,013 deaths, have been officially recorded since the start of the epidemic more than a year ago.
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The country will be completely confined from April 3 to 6 in the morning, for the Catholic Easter, announced the Lebanese authorities.
In a press release, the ministerial committee in charge of the fight against Covid warned against "
meetings at home and in closed places (...) during the next holidays
".
The Orthodox Christian communities celebrate Easter in early May while Eid, a major Muslim holiday, will be celebrated in mid-May.
Lebanese officials fear the holiday scenario will repeat itself.
Family reunions and the reopening of restaurants and cafes had led to an outbreak of contaminations, followed by strict confinement for several weeks.
A wave of “more dangerous” contamination?
Earlier Friday, the Superior Council of Defense extended the state of general mobilization against the pandemic in the country until the end of September, that is to say six more months.
"
Faced with the expected third wave of the epidemic (...) it is imperative to strengthen the reception capacity of hospitals, especially in intensive care units,
" President Michel Aoun said during a meeting on Friday. held at the presidential palace.
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According to the resigning Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, the new wave of contaminations "
could be more dangerous than those which preceded it
".
"
Our concerns are linked to (our ability to) be able to secure oxygen, electricity, medicines and medical equipment in the shadow of the serious financial crisis that the country is going through
", he stressed. .
On Wednesday, neighboring Syria announced that it would provide 75 tons of oxygen to coronavirus patients in Lebanon, on the sidelines of a surprise visit to Damascus by Lebanese Minister of Health Hamad Hassan, as reserves run out. in Lebanese hospitals.
The deterioration of the health situation comes as Lebanon is in the midst of an economic collapse.
More than half of the inhabitants live below the poverty line, according to the UN.
