Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Monday said the novel coronavirus is “not a pandemic” in Lebanon assuring that cancellation of a flight that was scheduled to land in Beirut was a “proof that the cabinet decision to suspend flights from infected countries came into effect.”

Lebanon on Sunday confirmed three new coronavirus cases, raising the overall tally to ten.

“Three new lab-verified cases of the novel coronavirus COVID-19 have been recorded,” the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Loyalty to Resistance bloc MP Hasan Fadlallah on Sunday defended Hizbullah’s participation in the ongoing battle in the northwestern Syrian province of Idlib near Turkey’s border, hours after Hizbullah announced the death of eight of its fighters there.

“The Islamic Resistance martyrs who ascended yesterday were through their blood trying to thwart an attempt by the takfiri groups and the states that back them to spread their presence once again in Syria,” Fadlallah said at a memorial service for one of the slain fighters in the southern town of Kfardounin.

Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Sunday called on Lebanese authorities to adopt a “more serious approach” in its measures against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

“The biggest concern is the spread of the coronavirus pandemic, which is threatening the safety of citizens be them young or old,” al-Rahi said in his Sunday Mass sermon.

One member of the Lebanese Army was killed and a second was injured on Saturday in an ambush in the al-Shawagir area in Hermel, the National News Agency reported on Saturday.

A statement released by the Army’s Orientation Directorate said the two soldiers were heading via their vehicle to visit someone in Hermel, when their car was ambushed by gunmen.

Saudi Arabia on Saturday called on Saudi nationals to postpone unnecessary travel to Lebanon amid concerns over coronavirus.

Grand Mufti of the Republic Sheikh Abdul Latif Daryan hailed Saudi Arabia’s decision banning entry to Islam's holiest cities amid fears over the new coronavirus, the National News Agency said on Saturday.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Saturday ordered the closure of daycare centers in Lebanon starting February 29 and ending March 8 as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus, the National News Agency reported.

Education Minister Tarek al-Majzoub on Friday ordered the closure of all educational institutions in the country for a week as a precaution against the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

Minister of Public Works and Transport Michel Najjar issued a statement on Friday suspending travel to Lebanon from countries infected with the coronavirus disease, the Minister’s media office said in a statement.