Lebanon declares 24-hour curfew, state of emergency
The round-the-clock curfew will take effect at 5 am on Thursday and last until Jan. 25.
Lebanon is tightening its nationwide lockdown, declaring a state of emergency and imposing a 24-hour curfew in a desperate effort to curb a growing coronavirus outbreak. A statement by the Supreme Defense Council said the new, all-day curfew will begin at 5 am on Thursday and run through Jan. 25.
The hastily announced measures prompted panic buying at grocery stores, which are closed to shoppers except for delivery. Twitter users on Monday uploaded photos of empty shelves at stores across the Middle East country.
Under the new restrictions, land and sea borders are closed to new arrivals. Air travelers from Cairo, Istanbul, Adana, Addis Ababa and Baghdad — where Lebanon’s health officials say 85% of the newest infections originated from — are required to stay in a hotel for seven days at their own expense, and undergo a test upon their arrival then another on their sixth day.
“We have seen catastrophic scenes of citizens in front of hospitals looking for a seat or bed,” President Michel Aoun said during a coronavirus meeting on Monday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reports. “Radical measures must be taken so that we can mitigate the catastrophic consequences of the coronavirus outbreak.”
