Caretaker Health Minister Firas Abiad (Credit: AFP archives)
BEIRUT — Health Minister Firas Abiad announced Tuesday that the results of samples taken from a restaurant in the Berdawny area in Zahle, where some 60 people got food poisoning in July, confirmed contaminated water, vegetables and ice.
Among those poisoned were several Lebanese-Australians who came to spend their summer vacation in Lebanon.
During a press conference, Abiad said the ministry closed the restaurant on precautions that people may have gotten food poisoned there.
"The symptoms involved high fever and severe and bloody diarrhea. Four of the poisoned people were hospitalized but thankfully, all of them completely recovered," Abiad said.
Abiad declared that the Ministry decided to extend the closure of the restaurant until it could secure the needed health measures in its kitchen and adopt a system to treat the water used in preparing food and washing vegetables and fruits.
"The Health Ministry will test the water again to ensure that it is free from bacteria and that the restaurant meets the required health conditions before making the decision to reopen it," he said.
Abiad asked citizens and tourism institutions to "pay attention to the possibility of surface water pollution due to water scarcity."
Water scarcity has become widespread in Lebanon, which has increases the risk of water pollution and food poisoning.
Numerous cases of food poisoning in the country have been shared on social media recently.