Passengers arriving at the Beirut airport from 11 countries will have to undergo a mandatory three-night quarantine as of Monday. (Credit: Soos Jozsef/Bigstock)
BEIRUT — Passengers from 11 countries will have to undergo a mandatory hotel quarantine upon their arrival at the Beirut airport, the Transportation Ministry has announced, as officials look to stem a recent uptick in new COVID-19 cases
In a circular released on Thursday, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation under the ministry announced that, as of July 12, quarantine would be required of passengers arriving from Brazil, Ethiopia, Gambia, India, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Sierra Leone, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom and Zambia.
Passengers arriving from all other destinations will have to pay $50 for a PCR test upon arrival.
Only those who have been partially or fully vaccinated at least two weeks before their arrival to Lebanon, as well as certain diplomats, minors, transiting passengers and those who traveled outside Lebanon for a week or less, will be exempted.
The decision comes after the country has registered an alarming rise in COVID-19 cases and as officials warn about the dangers posed by the spread of the virus’ highly transmissible Delta variant.
On Wednesday, Lebanon recorded 401 new COVID-19 cases, its highest number of new single-day coronavirus cases since May, compared with 294 new cases a day before and 101 cases on Monday — an alarming jump following weeks of downward trends on key virus indicators.
Meanwhile, both public and private hospitals in Lebanon continue to suffer from an insufficiency of essential medical equipment and an exodus of staff due to the country’s economic crisis.
The jump coincides with the recent detection of the Delta variant in the country, which is significantly more contagious than the virus’ original strain and may almost be more likely to lead to hospitalization. Officials have warned that a failure to take immediate action in response to the arrival of the variant may cause Lebanon to recede to the situation of last summer, when lax safety practices caused new positive cases to shoot up and the number of deaths to increase.
Speaking with Al Jadeed, Firass Abiad, who heads Rafik Hariri University Hospital, said that effectively preventing another surge of the virus requires closely monitoring air passengers coming from countries where the virus is more widespread.
“It is early to talk about a full closure of the country. However, we are close to a risky scenario.”