Lebanon will go into a new lockdown over the Orthodox Easter weekend to minimize a potential spike in coronavirus (COVID-19) infections.
The lockdown will start at 5 AM on Saturday, May 1st, and end at 5 AM on Tuesday, May 4th, during which a round-the-clock curfew will be in place that only those exempted from the curfew in the lockdown decision of February 6th will be exempt from.
People who are not exempt from the curfew may only go out after obtaining official permission from the dedicated platform, here, provided that their destination is among the following:
- Fruit, vegetable, and fish markets
- Veterinary pharmacies and clinics
- Bakeries
- Medical clinics
- Hospitals and their direct services
- Pharmacies
- Supermarkets, mini-markets, and retail shops that sell poultry, meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and food products
- Gas stations
- Laboratories
Face masks must be worn at all times, and all forms of gatherings and parties will be prohibited throughout the lockdown.
Prayers may be held in worship places with a maximum capacity of 30%, provided that preventive measures such as face masks and social distancing are followed.
People will be allowed to move to and from the Beirut Airport, provided that they hold the required documents (plane ticket, boarding pass, etc…).
The following vital sectors will be allowed to work, under various conditions and schedules, during the lockdown:
- Plant nurseries
- Farmers and beekeepers
- Fishermen
- Slaughterhouses
- Fruit, vegetable, and fish markets
- Veterinary pharmacies and clinics
- Mills
- Bakeries
- Medical clinics
- Mini-markets and retail shops that sell poultry, meat, eggs, vegetables, fruits, and food products (delivery-only after 9:30 PM)
- Garbage trucks and street sweepers
- Pastry and sweets shops (delivery-only after 9:30 PM)
- Restaurants and coffee shops (delivery only)
- Hotels (inner restaurants are closed starting 9:30 AM, only offering room delivery)
- Gas stations
- Laboratories
- Poultry slaughterhouses
- Bank employees that work on ATMs, in customer service departments, and in information departments
- Medicine distributors
- National cement companies
- Medical personal protective equipment factories
- Financial brokerage firms
- Food factories
- Oxygen refilling and distribution centers
- Manufacturers of medical and synthetic clothing for the exempt sectors
- Manufacturers of clothes, shoes, and leather
- Factories that manufacture disinfectants and cleaning agents
- Manufacturers of electronic machines, equipment, and tools
- Recycling factories
- Distributors of disinfectants and cleaning agents
- Security and money-transport companies
- Maintenance workers (elevators, medical equipment, internet, electric generators, cables, factory machinery)
- Internet companies
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.
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