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Lebanon Starts Two-Weeks of Restrictions to Stem Virus

An aerial view of the Achrafieh district of Lebanon's capital Beirut is seen as streets empty to minimize social contact as part of efforts against the coronavirus. (AFP file photo)
An aerial view of the Achrafieh district of Lebanon's capital Beirut is seen as streets empty to minimize social contact as part of efforts against the coronavirus. (AFP file photo)
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Lebanon Starts Two-Weeks of Restrictions to Stem Virus

An aerial view of the Achrafieh district of Lebanon's capital Beirut is seen as streets empty to minimize social contact as part of efforts against the coronavirus. (AFP file photo)
An aerial view of the Achrafieh district of Lebanon's capital Beirut is seen as streets empty to minimize social contact as part of efforts against the coronavirus. (AFP file photo)

Lebanon started a new two-week lockdown Saturday after coronavirus infections crossed the 100,000 mark in a country where hospital capacity has become saturated.

The capital's roads were largely empty and police checkpoints had been set up at several locations, while the seaside promenade often thronging on weekends was deserted, an AFP photographer said.

The airport however remained open, as did essential businesses.

Under the measures announced, during the day people were to stay home unless they were granted an exception, and only cars with certain number plates were allowed on the roads.

A nighttime curfew was to come into force from 5:00 pm (1500 GMT) to 5:00 am (0300 GMT).

Lebanon, with a population of around six million, has been recording some 11,000 coronavirus infections on average each week, the health ministry said Thursday.

Since February, the country has recorded 102,607 Covid-19 cases, including 796 deaths, it says.

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 the number of coronavirus cases surged following a monstrous blast at Beirut's port on August 4 which killed more than 200 people, wounded at least 6,500, and overwhelmed hospitals.

The new restrictions are set to last until November 30 but the authorities have said they could be extended, as they fear the health system would not be able to cope with many more cases needing intensive care.

"The situation is critical and getting worse," Said al-Asmar, a pulmonologist at the main public hospital in Beirut dealing with Covid-19 cases, warned on Friday.

Sometimes, "patients need intensive care, but we have to leave them in accident and emergency," the doctor at the Rafik Hariri Hospital told AFP.

The World Health Organization said at the end of October that 88 percent of Lebanon's 306 intensive care beds were occupied.

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Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
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Mikati Instructs Lebanon’s Institutions to Cooperate with HTS

 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).
 Activists carry Lebanese and Syrian flags, along with pictures of journalist Samir Kassir, who was assassinated by the former Syrian regime, during a demonstration in Beirut (EPA).

Communication channels have been opened between the Lebanese state and the Syrian Interim Government. Diplomats conveyed a message from HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa to Lebanese officials, stating that the new Syrian government has no issues with the Lebanese state.
HTS said that its problem lingers with Hezbollah, which supported the Assad regime in its attacks on the Syrian people, occupied Syrian territories, and displaced its residents.
A source close to caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati indicated that the prime minister received the Syrian message “very positively” and began working toward establishing stable relations with Syria. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, the source disclosed that Mikati had instructed all official institutions to collaborate with HTS, which now oversees security in Syrian territories, and to coordinate on mutual security matters between the two nations.
The first tangible result of this cooperation was a meeting held on Wednesday between a delegation from HTS and the Lebanese General Security agency at the latter’s office near the Masnaa border crossing in the Bekaa Valley. The talks resulted in agreements on coordination frameworks to ensure security on both sides of the border.
The source explained that Mikati’s primary focus is on organizing and securing the borders. Recently, he received reports from the Lebanese Army indicating that Syrian authorities had closed 80% of the illegal crossings previously used by smugglers. The source described this as a reassuring development.
In a sign of reconciliation, the source close to Mikati noted that Turkish and Qatari envoys delivered a message confirming that the new Syrian government does not intend to revisit the conflicts of the Syrian war or seek revenge against Bashar al-Assad’s allies, including Hezbollah. The message stressed that Syria has no plans to retaliate against Hezbollah for its actions during the war, such as detaining Syrian opposition figures in Lebanon, provided that Hezbollah withdraws from Syria and ceases all military and security activities there.
Further reflecting this shift, a security source told Asharq Al-Awsat that HTS had previously facilitated the safe transfer of dozens of Hezbollah fighters and their families from Syria to Lebanon without harming or targeting them.
Despite these developments, there has yet to be any official communication between the Lebanese government and Ahmed Al-Sharaa, the transitional leader of Syria, even though two weeks have passed since the fall of the Assad regime.
Former Lebanese minister Rashid Derbas commented that Mikati had recently made an exploratory visit to Ankara to understand how the situation in Syria is unfolding. Speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat, Derbas stated that the armed factions now responsible for security in Syria face a major test of their ability to maintain stability until a new political authority is established through free and fair elections reflecting the will of the Syrian people. He noted that the Syrian Army no longer has a presence on the ground.
Derbas added that while Syrian statements about relations with Lebanon have been positive, Lebanon must remain cautious and alert to the possibility of chaos erupting in Syria and spilling over into its borders.