After a relatively excellent job in its fight against the coronavirus (with 0 new cases in many regions), Lebanon is now seeing a surge in its covid-19 cases, with 36 new cases on Sunday (13 on Saturday, and 12 on Friday).
As a result, Lebanon has extended its curfew, from 7 PM to 5 AM. It is even, considering a full lockdown again, which could last from 48 to even 72 hours, according to the Health Minister:
Journalists from the MTV Channel tried to get information from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The latter declined to offer any explanation, stating that its repatriating mission ends when the doors of the airplane close. The journalists then turned to the Ministry of Internal Affairs. The latter sent them to the Ministry of Health.
Luckily, the Minister of Health accepted their invitation for an interview: https://www.mtv.com.lb/en/programs/prime_time_news/2020/videos/10_may_2020/
From what Bambi understood from the documentary above (Arabic content), the first two steps of the repatriating mission were conducted in a rigorous manner by the Ministry of Health, as reported in earlier posts.
However, it seems that some Lebanese expats who have been quarantined in hotels in Beirut until their test results, forgot about the strict instructions of the Ministry of Health. As soon as they returned their regions/villages, they engaged in social activities. One expat from Nigeria received friends over (a Lebanese tradition to welcome newcomers). Others literally left their places. Some even attended social events, including Iftar dinners with loved ones, after a day of fast (Ramadan month is still on).
After investigations by the health authorities, it turned out that the person who received his friends over infected them all with the coronavirus. One of those infected guests happens to be a soldier who works in the military tribunal. Well, he then had an Iftar with 12 of his colleagues. They are now all infected.
Why can’t some citizens be covidwise? Is using one’s brain too much to ask for, even if we are happy to be back home or even if we are celebrating a holy month? Don’t we have a collective duty in a pandemic, toward our fellow citizens? The latter have been sacrificing, by putting their lives and economy on hold, for over three months. They deserve some respect and consideration.
