Lebanon Reimposes 4-day Lockdown as Coronavirus Cases Spike

The Lebanese government on Wednesday imposed a nationwide four-day lockdown amid a spike in coronavirus cases only a week after beginning to re-open the country. According to Arab media, the cabinet has ordered the shutdown from “May 13 in the evening until Monday, May 18 in the morning.” Ahead of the announcement, President Michel Aoun reportedly stressed the need to “tighten preventative measures to cope with the coronavirus pandemic, especially that the number of infections, unfortunately, increased in the past days.” On Tuesday, Lebanon’s Health Ministry confirmed 11 new cases of COVID-19, which has infected over 870 people and killed at least 26. It comes after Beirut had permitted restaurants, hairdressers and religious institutions to resume operating at a reduced capacity, although social distancing regulations remained in place. That, in turn, came after numerous days of either a very low number of new cases or none at all. The development has for some confirmed fears of a so-called second wave of infections, a rebound effect caused by the gradual return to a semblance of normalcy. The Lebanese Interior Ministry last weekend warned that the measure would likely be necessary due to the public’s “selfishness, blatant disregard, and indifference towards their health and the health of society.”