Lebanon set for muted NYE celebrations amid economic, health crises

Lebanon set for muted NYE celebrations amid economic, health crises

Author: Wed, 2020-12-30 21:40

BEIRUT: Lebanon has begun the countdown to what are expected to be muted New Year's Eve celebrations.

Despite some hotels and nightclubs reporting healthy bookings for parties and events, the country's dire economic situation and a surge in coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases is likely to result in most citizens seeing in 2021 at home.

Shops and catering stores have been relatively busy with people buying items to mark New Year's Eve and pre-ordering home deliveries of food.

Hotels hosting parties said bookings had exceeded expectations, but restaurant owners' syndicate head, Pierre Al-Achkar, pointed out that 167 hotels damaged by the Beirut port explosion still required repairs and were unable to open.

In the run-up to New Year's Eve, tourist police and internal security forces permanently closed six nightclubs, bars, and restaurants and issued fines to 64 others for violating general mobilization rules and failing to comply with health and public safety measures.

Breaches included employees not wearing face masks or respecting social distancing, allowing premises to become overcrowded, and offering hookah.

The country's Internal Security Forces on Wednesday announced that strict security measures would be in place on New Year's Eve, "to maintain the security and safety of citizens, and to ensure the protection