Michel Hayek was not joking when he called 2020 “a year of madness” when he shared his predictions for this year on 31 December 2019.
Since January this year, Hayek has scored many predictions on both the local and international levels.
And as more “madness” unravels in Lebanon and the world after the emergence of the coronavirus (COVID-19), Michel Hayek is back under the spotlight.
During the international section of his 2020 forecast, the Millennium Nostradamus said: “The spread of a virus reminds us of the time of swine flu, mad cow disease, and others.”
What he did not say, however, was that his prediction would come true just a few days after uttering it. Since the outbreak started, it has infected more than 156,000 people around the world.
Day after day, the coronavirus is spreading and disrupting the order of numerous countries, including our very own. The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic.
Michel Hayek made his “madness” remark at the beginning of the show before he went on with his predictions.
And when asked by the host why he thought 2020 was a year of madness, Hayek said it was because he saw “madness in supermarkets, madness in schools, and madness in banks.”
Later on, one of his predictions for Lebanon went as follows: “I see school gates shut in the midst of the school year, and the reason is not a strike.”
Needless to say, Lebanon’s schools, colleges, and universities have recently closed after the coronavirus began spreading in the country.
And speaking of supermarket madness, Lebanon is witnessing plenty of it this week with people flocking to supermarkets.
With the epidemic now recording close to 100 cases in the country, Lebanese have begun stocking up not only on food and water, but also on gas, hand rubs, and other home supplies.
People in Lebanon and other countries are going on shopping frenzies in fear of products disappearing from supermarkets due to the coronavirus situation.
As for banks, well, it doesn’t need much explanation… “Bank madness” among the Lebanese is not even a new occurrence. The rivalry between banks and the people goes back to the last third of 2019 and has not subsided ever since.
What’s next?
So far, 2020 has been internationally perceived as a disastrous year and a terrible start for the new decade.
From a World War near-miss to a dangerous pandemic and numerous earthquakes and disasters, luck does not seem to be on people’s side this year.
And we’ve only barely managed through 3 months of it so far!
Not to inspire fear, but most of Michel Hayek’s predictions for Lebanon, the Middle East, and the world in 2020 were indeed very concerning.
With 9 months to go, how many more of his intriguing and disheartening previsions will ring true?