A worker sprays disinfectant during Lebanon's first lockdown in March. (AFP/Anwar Amro)
The Higher Defense Council meets today to decide whether to impose a nationwide lockdown, among other measures, to combat COVID-19. Health officials have called for a lockdown as infections spike, but have met resistance from business owners, who worry any closure might become permanent for companies struggling to survive. Yesterday, cabinet’s coronavirus committee agreed with the former, recommending a two-week lockdown to start Saturday. Twenty percent of local tests came back positive yesterday, indicating inadequate testing, even as cases mount week on week. The rising tide threatens to overwhelm hospitals, which had 305 patients in ICU yesterday. According to the WHO, there are 333 ICU beds in the country.
Michel Aoun met again with Saad Hariri yesterday to discuss the formation of a new government, which has stalled following positive talk from politicians in recent weeks. The US sanctioning of Bassil is likely to further complicate efforts to create a new government, our sister publication L’Orient-Le Jour reported, adding that the president and Hezbollah oppose sidelining the Free Patriotic Movement. Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah and Bassil’s ally, will deliver televised remarks tomorrow to address political developments, among other topics.
US Ambassador Dorothy Shea claimed yesterday that Gebran Bassil had “expressed willingness to break with Hezbollah, on certain conditions,” in talks prior to Washington sanctioning him. The US designated the FPM leader Friday on anti-corruption grounds, but Bassil has claimed that the real cause was his unwillingness to turn his back on Hezbollah. Shea also claimed the US “endeavors to make as much information publicly available as possible” when blacklisting people, but “some of this information is not releasable.” In its sanctions announcement, Washington provided only scant clues to Bassil’s alleged corruption.
The head of the Syndicate of Importers of Foodstuffs warned yesterday that restrictions imposed on lira withdrawals by Banque du Liban and banks could have “dangerous repercussions on food security.” Hani Bohsali estimated that the measures risk halving food imports since 50 percent of clients’ purchases are in cash while the rest is paid using cards. Since merchants need access dollars to import, they have to turn to money changers, where transactions are done in cash, he said. Bohsali warned that with funds trapped in banks, “retailers are only able to cover half their bills, risking facing severe food shortages in the coming period.”
UNRWA announced that it has run out of money to pay staff salaries for the rest of the year. The organization, which provides education, health care and other basic services for Palestinian refugees, said it needs $70 million to cover its 28,000 employees, over 3,000 of which are in Lebanon, for November and December. UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said that without a source of income, their “staff will see their source of livelihoods disappear, and they are very likely to descend into deep poverty.” Spokeswoman Tamara Alrifai told AFP the agency “never recovered” from the complete funding cut imposed by US President Donald Trump in 2018.
