Lebanon Shuts Down 115 Villages, Imposes New Curfew Amid Rising COVID-19 Infections

corona covid

BEIRUT, Nov 2 (NNN-NNA) – Lebanon’s Caretaker Interior Minister, Mohammad Fahmi, issued a statement on Sunday, ordering complete lockdown in 115 villages and towns in the country, along with a nationwide curfew, due to the increase in COVID-19 cases.

The curfew starts from 9.00 p.m. to 5.00 a.m. local time, every day.

The minister also prevented public and private gatherings on all Lebanese territories, while ordering all pubs and night clubs to remain closed until further notice.

Meanwhile, Caretaker Health Minister, Hamad Hassan, said, the partial closure in the country proved to be inefficient, urging the authorities to shut down the whole country, to limit the spread of the virus.

Hassan noted that Lebanon has been witnessing death cases among young people infected with COVID-19, due to negligence by citizens or lack of awareness among families.

“We are about to witness an imminent disaster, if we do not consider taking tougher measures,” Hassan said.

Lebanon has been fighting against COVID-19 since Feb 21. The virus had killed 643 people so far, while the total number of infections stands at 82,617.