Diab Says Army, Security Forces to Take Measures to Enforce Lockdown

Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Sunday called on the Army Command and the rest of security forces to take strict measures to ensure citizens are staying in their homes unless it is extremely necessary, following major breaches of the government’s “general mobilization” order over the past days.

“The plans include staging patrols and erecting checkpoints on roads to enforce commitment to the taken measures,” Diab said in an address to the nation dedicated to the coronavirus crisis.

“The Army Command and the security forces will announce the needed steps,” he added.

Warning that “coronavirus is waiting at doorsteps,” the premier said dealing with the threat “must be at the level that protects our people.”

“We are in great danger and triumphing over coronavirus can only happen through cooperation between the state, the society and the citizen,” Diab urged.

Cautioning that the Health Ministry recorded 67 coronavirus cases over the past two days, the prime minister warned that violators of the lockdown and general mobilization measures will be prosecuted by the relevant judicial authorities.

“I call on the Lebanese to observe a self-imposed curfew,” he urged

The Health Ministry said in its daily report on Saturday that 24 more people have contracted the virus, raising the country’s tally to 206.

"From February 21 till March 21, 2020, the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases has reached 206, including those diagnosed at private hospitals and at the Rafik Hariri University Hospital,” said the report.

The Ministry said RHUH continues to run tests on samples taken from people suspected to have contracted the virus, while identifying and monitoring their contacts and carefully watching all arrivals from countries experiencing a spread of the virus.

Last Sunday, the government declared a two-week state of “general mobilization,” closing the country’s air, land and sea ports of entry and ordering the closure of all non-essential public and private institutions.

Citizens and residents were meanwhile asked to stay home unless it is extremely necessary to go out, but major breaches of the instructions were recorded over the past few days, especially in Tripoli, Beirut's Tariq al-Jedideh area and Beirut's southern suburbs.