Lebanese citizens stranded in Syria will be able to return to Lebanon this week, the General Directorate of General Security announced.
Lebanese and their families will be exceptionally permitted to cross the border into Lebanon on Wednesday, January 27th, the security agency said in a statement.
The exemption will be active for one day. Those wishing to return home may do so through the Masnaa and Abboudieh border crossings from 9 AM until 6 PM, as long as they hold a negative PCR test from Syria whose date does not exceed 96 hours.
Citizens who enter Lebanon from Syria will also be subject to another PCR test that will be administered by the teams of the Ministry of Public Health, according to the statement.
The exceptional measure comes as Lebanon goes through its most stringent lockdown since coronavirus (COVID-19) reached it in February 2020.
The decision also comes hours after a Lebanese citizen stuck in Syria issued a call for the Lebanese authorities to allow him and the dozens of other stranded citizens to return home.
In a video that went viral on social media in Lebanon, composer Anwar Makkawi urged the authorities to open the border with Syria so that he could enter Lebanon after being forced to stay in Syria for over 60 days.
Makkawi had headed to Syria on New Year’s Eve with the intention of returning a few days later. However, while there, he had a health emergency and had to undergo surgery.
He later attempted to go back to Lebanon only to be stopped by Syrian security forces, in accordance with Lebanese authorities’ instructions to not allow anyone to cross the border, Makkawi explains in the video.
We have a dedicated coronavirus section where you can find the latest news/updates about the pandemic in Lebanon, inform yourself with WHO-verified resources, and track the number of cases in Lebanon in real-time. Click here.
