Lebanon enters full lockdown to stem virus uptick

Lebanon enters full lockdown to stem virus uptick

The lockdown, ordered after some hospitals started to run out of intensive care beds, includes a 24-hour curfew until January 25







AFP

, Thursday 14 Jan 2021







A street in central Beirut is deserted, as Lebanon enters its first day of strict lockdown imposed by the authorities in a bid to stem the spread of the coronavisus, on January 14, 2021 PHOTO: AFP













A full lockdown started in Lebanon Thursday, with residents barred even from grocery shopping and dependent on food deliveries, in a bid to slow a surge in novel coronavirus cases.

The new restrictions were only loosely respected in some areas of the country, however, after mass protests in recent years against a political elite held responsible for a deepening economic crisis.

The lockdown, ordered after some hospitals started to run out of intensive care beds, includes a 24-hour curfew until January 25.

Non-essential workers are barred from leaving their homes, and supermarkets are supposed to operate delivery services only.

Those wishing to request an emergency exemption -- to see a doctor for example -- can do so by sending a mobile phone