BEIRUT — Health Minister Firass Abiad said Wednesday that the national commission responsible for monitoring the COVID-19 pandemic will have to make difficult decisions in relation to imposing safety restrictions in the country, which continues to sink deeper into a financial crisis.
Here is what we know:
• “The national commission responsible for monitoring the pandemic is meeting today at the Grand Serail,” he tweeted, noting that local COVID-19 numbers are “worrying and the new Omicron variant is spreading around the world.”
• According to data from the Health Ministry, the number of new cases has increased by 34 percent this past week.
• “Is it possible to reconcile the required safety measures, and avoid the significant negative effects of those measures on the economic and educational sectors?” Abiad asked, warning that, “the choices will not be at all easy.”
• So far Lebanese authorities have not taken any preventive measures against the Omicron variant.