The Lebanese government on Thursday extended the so-called state of general mobilization until April 12 and ordered a general closure from 7pm until 5am with some exceptions, in an amplification of the anti-coronavirus measures, the information minister said.

The Premiership later said in a statement that only mills, bakeries, pharmacies and medical factories will be exempt from the 7pm-5am closure order, adding that citizens and residents will be barred from being on the streets.

Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced Thursday that Lebanon’s current state of “general mobilization” in the face of the coronavirus crisis is a state of emergency to some extent, noting that Lebanon lacks the ability to implement a complete state of emergency at the moment.

“What’s currently happening is a state of emergency in the framework of general mobilization, but the declaration of a state of emergency according to law requires measures involving a curfew and a general closure and we do not have such intentions,” Diab told reporters in a chat after a cabinet session.

The Health Ministry said that 35 new coronavirus cases have been registered on Thursday raising the tally to 368 in Lebanon.

The Higher Defense Council on Thursday recommended an extension of the “general mobilization” period until April 12 to curtail the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Head of Hizbullah’s Executive Council Hashem Safieddine said on Thursday that the party has allocated 3.5 billion Lebanese pounds for a plan “consistent with the government’s policies” to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Through 15 years of civil war and various bouts of violence since, Lebanon's Barbar eatery never closed its doors, serving up sandwiches to customers even if it meant doing so from behind sandbags.

The coronavirus pandemic, however, has managed to do what various wars could not: Close bars, restaurants and entertainment spots across the tiny Mediterranean country. It's an economic gut punch at a time when Lebanon is already mired in the worst financial crisis in its history.

Two guards of the house of Kataeb Party chief MP Sami Gemayel have been infected with the COVID-19 coronavirus, the party said on Wednesday.

Noting that the two guards belong to the Internal Security Forces, Kataeb said one of them contracted the virus from his sister, who is a nurse at the Notre Dame des Secours hospital in Jbeil, before infecting his colleague.

A Lebanese coronavirus patient died on Wednesday as four others recovered, the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital announced.

The fatality raises the country’s death toll from the pandemic to six.

Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Prime Minister Hassan Diab held talks Wednesday in Ain el-Tineh that focused on the issue of repatriating some Lebanese citizens from Europe and Africa over the coronavirus crisis.

In this regard, Berri stressed that “the government must ensure all the requirements of care and protection for Lebanese expats as well as residents in terms of everything related to their health, social and financial security, wherever they may be.”

The Higher Defense Council will convene Thursday at 10:00 am at the Baabda Palace, the National News Agency said.

The meeting will be presided by President Michel Aoun, at his invitation, and attended by Prime Minister Hassan Diab, the permanent members and other officials.