Defense Minister Zeina Akar on Monday said the Cabinet took the “maximum” measures at the present moment in relation to the challenges of coronavirus, noting that a state of emergency can “only be declared in specific cases that do not apply at this phase,” al-Joumhouria daily reported on Monday.

The government declared general mobilization on Sunday over the coronavirus crisis and announced a two-week lockdown of the country.

Several politicians in Lebanon said they will donate their March salaries as a contribution to the anti-coronavirus campaign.

In a tweet Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad said: “Health Minister Hamad Hassan has taken the initiative and I will donate my March salary for the national fund to fight coronavirus as part of supporting government hospitals to confront the disease,” she said.

The government on Sunday declared “general mobilization” over the coronavirus crisis and announced a two-week lockdown of the country.

Municipal police on Sunday cleared the landmark seaside corniche in Beirut’s Ain el-Mreisseh and Manara areas after scores of people flocked to it for strolling, jogging, swimming, fishing and other activities despite the coronavirus crisis.

A statement said Beirut Governor Ziad Chebib asked municipal police to clear the area at the instructions of Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi.

Independent MP Chamel Roukoz and Development and Liberation bloc MP Fadi Alameh on Sunday announced that they will donate their salaries and compensations to hospitals as a contribution to the anti-coronavirus fight.

In a tweet, Roukoz said he took his decision “based on the principle of national and humanitarian solidarity,” saying the donation will go to the Bouar state-run hospital.

President Michel Aoun on Sunday defended the measures that have been taken by Lebanese authorities to confront the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“Over the past weeks, we have not been lax at all in confronting (the coronavirus crisis) with determination, will and awareness and in an instant and preventative manner,” Aoun said in an address to the nation at the beginning of an emergency Cabinet session in Baabda.

Lebanon’s confirmed coronavirus cases have surged from 93 to 99, the Health Ministry announced at noon Sunday.

In a statement, the ministry said the tally includes the cases reported by both the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital and the country’s private hospitals.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on the Lebanese not to leave their homes unless it is extremely necessary as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“Brother and sisters, you came here despite the fears over leaving homes and mixing with people, but your faith and our faith remain stronger than fear,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.

Lebanon is poised to declare a state of emergency to prevent further spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, media reports said.

“Lebanon is inclined to declare an official state of emergency for 15 days during which institutions still working will be closed, except for those belonging to vital daily sectors,” An-Nahar newspaper reported on Sunday.

Economy Minister Raoul Nehme asked owners of supermarkets and grocery stores to “temporarily” extend working hours in order to service customers through limiting their numbers inside the stores as a measure against the spread of coronavirus.

Nehme held a meeting with importers, owners of supermarkets and grocery stores. He asked them to extend working hours while respecting “containment precautions” against the disease for their own safety and that of customers.