Lebanon Restricts Cafes, Beaches to the Vaccinated or COVID Tested

Lebanon Restricts Cafes, Beaches to the Vaccinated or COVID Tested

A tourist guide talks to visitors as they sit on an electric vehicle in Batroun, Lebanon June 5, 2021. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir

The Lebanese Tourism Ministry on Friday asked restaurants, cafes, pubs and beaches to limit entry to people holding COVID-19 vaccine certificates or those who have taken antibodies tests.

Non-vaccinated employees of these establishments would be required to conduct a PCR test every 72 hours, said the ministry.

The tourist police will be responsible for monitoring the implementation of the new rule, it added.

Lebanon recorded 923 coronavirus cases and three deaths in the last 24 hours, the Health Ministry said Friday.

Lebanon's cases peaked when a total lockdown was enforced in January after hospitals became overwhelmed amid a crippling financial crisis, with medicines running low and frequent power cuts.

The country gradually re-opened over the spring.

Lebanon's vaccination drive has been slow with only around 18% of the population fully vaccinated.