(Credit: Anwar Amro/AFP)
Around 20 percent of the population will receive vaccines in the first round of distribution, caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan said. Lebanon will receive about 2 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine in mid-February, he said, enough to cover around 1 million Lebanese as it requires two doses per person. This shipment will cover the elderly, individuals with chronic diseases and health care workers. Lebanon registered 1,594 new COVID-19 cases yesterday, while 15 more people have died from the virus, raising the death toll to 1,409.
MPs held meetings to discuss fuel for electricity as well as the prevention of torture. Parliament’s Public Works, Transportation, Energy and Water Committee formed a fact-finding subcommittee to assess the management of the country’s electricity supply, tender offers and garbage disposal. This body will mainly focus on the contract with fuel supplier Sonatrach, which ends in two days, and alleged violations in the electricity sector. Separately, the Human Rights Committee proposed a law to establish an independent entity that reinforces human rights and the prevention of torture, MP George Okais told L’Orient Today. This organization will be allocated around LL7 billion per year, and would be designed to be separated from any ministry or political influence.
Students are set to protest today at 11 a.m. against the massive rise in tuition at some universities. Both the American University of Beirut and the Lebanese American University have more than doubled their tuition by abandoning the official exchange rate and setting their prices at BDL’s platform rate of LL3,900 to the dollar, starting this coming semester. Earlier this month, angry students and protesters took to the streets, blocking roads and smashing bank windows in the Hamra neighborhood.