An “exotic” parade-of-one pickup was spotted driving through the streets of Saida, South Lebanon, with a guy dancing on its back for the bored quarantined on their balconies.
“We won’t handshake, we won’t kiss, we won’t transfer the vayroos (virus),” the colorful truck blasted on its speaker an Egyptian song inspired by the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak and social distancing.
The coronavirus threat meant nothing to Saida people who tried encouraging people to not transfer the vayroos by refraining from handshakes and kisses.
It is no secret that we, the people of Lebanon, go big for hugs and kisses. Two kisses or three kisses? Do I go for a hug or is this person just a handshake material? When will teta stop grabbing my face to give me a big toothless kiss on the cheek?
These are all universal dilemmas that the Lebanese people are taking a break from. Now, social distancing is the new “I went for a kiss but all I got was a smile and a handshake” savage.
The song blasted in the parade-of-one in Saida might be Egyptian, but it sure fits the Lebanese situation like a glove. Lebanon has been in quarantine for almost three weeks, and as necessarily as quarantine, it is not as fun.
The number of coronavirus cases has reached 438 cases on March 29th, with 29 new cases in 24 hours. That is despite the night curfews and the lockdown of many towns and villages.
Lebanese Minister of Public Health Hamad Hassan confirmed that the results of this general mobilization will only appear five weeks after the decision was implemented.
This means that the coronavirus cases emerging currently are still the result of previous social interactions and not current ones. In a few weeks, Lebanon will be able to announce if the virus was contained from spreading further.
“We don’t even talk about containment for seasonal flu — it’s just not possible,” WHO Director-General Ghebreyesus said at a briefing. “But it is possible for Covid-19.”
“We don’t do contact-tracing for seasonal flu — but countries should do it for Covid-19 because it will prevent infections and save lives,” the said and assured that “containment is possible.”
You can watch the parade-of-one in Saida here:
The song “We’re not going to shake hands, we’re not going to kiss” went on to get another very cheerful moment on Sunday night in Saida, here’s a glimpse at it:
We have a dedicated coronavirus section where you can find the latest news/updates about the pandemic in Lebanon, inform yourself with WHO-verified resources, and track the number of cases in Lebanon in real-time. Click here.