COVID19 versus Lebanon: the score now stands 4-1
Opinion Analysis by John Sakr, Contributor
January 12th, 2021
The Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 19 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic took the world by storm in the first quarter of 2020, the first known case reaching Lebanon in February. Exactly two days later, most universities and schools announced that they would be closing down as a precaution. March 15th marked the beginning of a government-announced total lockdown that many praised as a prompt and effective response to the pandemic, according to The Washington Post. Indeed, journalist Liz Sly indicated that, unlike many European and American cities, “Lebanon is in a big mess. But on coronavirus, it’s doing something right.” The country was at its darkest time of the year back then, with the US dollar/Lebanese Pound rate rising, and road closures causing mayhem on a weekly basis. A scenario similar to that in Italy or Spain was the last thing Lebanon needed, and, thankfully, the strict curfews, business closures, and early action were sufficient to maintain the cases at a relatively low number, and the death rate minimal.
After consulting Prof. Nadine Yared, member of the Lebanese National Committee for Communicable Diseases affiliated with the Ministry of Public Health, the story behind the spread of COVID-19 and its management in Lebanon during the first half of 2020 was explained. The first interesting fact is that, most likely, Lebanon got its first COVID-19 case from Iran and not China. The aforementioned committee had been monitoring epicenters around the world, notably in Qom, Iran, and cross-referenced that with the fact that many Lebanese residents visited that area for pilgrimage during that time of the year, which pushed them to conduct mass screening on airplanes coming back from Iran. That is how the first confirmed case was detected, on February 21st, 2020, hence the consequent lockdown. In parallel, Lebanon was crumbling economically, with prices going up and job security going down, but a strict lockdown being imposed was proven very effective, with almost 0 cases in the end of May, up until the beginning of the month of July.
Rafik El Hariri International Airport was reopened beyond repatriation flights, on July 1st, provided that arriving passengers conduct one or two Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, depending on if they had undergone one in the country of origin or not. Expatriates arrived in masses, in addition to very few tourists (compared to previous years). This led to a decrease in the general sense of panic, encouraging many Lebanese people to leave their houses again. During this time at home, however, the economy was silently yet firmly crashing. Many restaurants, resorts, and stores posted their “re-opening” advertisements, conveniently accompanied by lists of their new prices, which were quite higher than what citizens had been familiar with prior to quarantine.
Despite that, and understandably, people still went out, for a long-needed breather. The mishap, however, is that COVID-19 precautions were not implemented nor respected in businesses, especially night clubs and bars. At that stage, Lebanon recorded a few hundred cases a day. The healthcare system was still able to handle the pandemic, up until the August 4 tragedy. The Ammonium Nitrate blast had ejected people outside of their houses, made buildings collapse as residents found themselves atop one another, overpopulated the destroyed hospitals without personal protective equipment (PPE), such as face masks, and so social distancing became secondary: saving lives was the priority. The pandemic, which had taken front stage to the economic collapse, now had to cede its place to the deadly explosion. The planned lockdown was lifted, as people had to go to the streets, find their loved ones, their belongings, or what remained of them.
Following August 4th, throughout September, “by-area” lockdowns were imposed: if an area reported many COVID cases, businesses in that area had to close down. Residents of those areas, however, were allowed to come and go freely. There were many questions asked, relative to people living in a “closed” area but working in an “open” one, or streets where each side would be considered a different area (Zalka and Amaret Chalhoub, for example). Proven to be ineffective, the ministerial COVID-19 committee had decided to re-open the country, with a curfew that would shift from 11 PM, to 1 AM, to 9 PM, up until the holiday season came around and the curfew was announced to be 3 AM for a “grace period” of 10 days. Clubs and bars were allowed to re-open, as long as they respected social distancing and a maximum of 50% capacity. Unfortunately, that was not the case. This “little breather” phase was taken lightly by people in Lebanon. Not only did residents unsafely mix and mingle, but also expatriates came to Lebanon for the holidays solely because “it was open, while other countries were not” (mainly due to the spread of a new strain of the virus emerging from the United Kingdom).
Unsafe events took place, culminating on New Year’s Eve, December 31st, 2020. Many house parties with over 100 people took place, as well as concerts and cocktail parties in hotels, hosted by local celebrities, which attracted thousands of Lebanese and foreigners to what could be called a Coronavirus breeding land, Lebanon on New Year’s Eve of 2021. The Instagram page @novelcorona19 has been exposing such unsafe gatherings, as well as businesses that do not abide by COVID precaution measures. As much as it would tag the Lebanese Internal Security Forces (ISF), in charge of sanctioning lockdown breakers, there was just too much to handle. Their direct message complaint box was overflowing with images of crowded rooms with loud music, smoke in the air, and many entertainers joking about the severity of COVID and its impact.
Almost a week later, on January 8th, 2021, Lebanon recorded 5440 cases of COVID-19, its highest daily count ever. Mount Lebanon Hospital, a large university hospital in suburban Beirut, has already converted two of its three regular Intensive Care Units into COVID-19 intensive care units, according to its administration, yet that “will not be enough, considering the numbers.” Other hospitals such as the Bouar hospital are treating patients in their cars due to lack of space, as reported on an interview with local television channel MTV. Local positivity rates are reaching 19%, compared to the agreed-upon acceptable 10%. Talks about the Pfizer vaccine arriving in mid-February are the nation’s only hope, but the country has, to date (January 11th, 2021), not received official news about it. The number of vaccines in the first batch coming was supposedly two million, covering one million people (the vaccine consists of two shots per person), but now sources say 600,000 doses for 300,000 people: the real amount remains unknown. A fifth lockdown was in place in the beginning of January, with a 6 PM curfew and only supermarkets open, however, on January 11th, was decided the strictest lockdown Lebanon has been objected to since the beginning of the pandemic: citizens cannot leave their house for 10 days, all businesses (including grocery stores) are closed, and penalties now include criminal charges upon those who cause a serious threat to the crisis. Moreover, all outpatient hospital units are to be shut off, as well as flights from some destinations. In other words, if you do not have severe COVID, or if you cannot treat severe COVID, you cannot leave the house unless you leave Lebanon, or if you are dying from a stroke or seizure. Until more is known about the vaccine and its distribution, and while this “mega-lockdown” takes effect, residents must stay safe and cautious.
Sources
https://moph.gov.lb/ar/Media/view/43750/1/ترصد-عدوى-الكوفيد-19-