Hassan Says Full Lockdown 'Crucial' to Strengthen Healthcare Capabilities

Caretaker Health Minister Hamad Hassan highlighted the necessity on Monday to impose nationwide lockdown amid the sharp rise in the number of coronavirus infection cases in Lebanon.

“Full lockdown is a chance to beef up the readiness of the healthcare sector,” Hassan said following a meeting of the Medical Scientific Committee at the Ministry of Health.

The minister stressed that partial lockdown measures imposed earlier “did not yield the sought results," he said.

He also announced that after a series of contacts with the Central Bank of Lebanon, it had been decided to earmark a specific amount of funds for private hospitals to prepare wards specifically for the treatment of coronavirus cases.