The Minister of Public Health, Dr. Firass Abiad, posted on a thread on Twitter discussing whether or not schools should remain closed due to the Coronavirus and its Omicron variant.
He said that schools must guarantee that health measures are followed by the appropriate wearing of masks and the implementation of natural ventilation, and this is hard to follow.
Dr. Abiad shared that the rates of vaccinated school students are still low mainly because the parents are not willing to give the vaccines to their children.
He explained that false-negative PCR tests and affected people showing no sign of the Coronavirus will worsen the situation since they will contribute to the spread of the virus.
Abiad also indicated that everything should be related to whether there are enough beds in hospitals to welcome severe cases, and that opening schools will hinder all the tries to contain the virus.
However, the Health Minister added that society needs to move on, and keeping schools closed is a temporary solution.
The Lebanese authorities have been “battling” on and off with whether they announce another lockdown or keep the country open since the rates of the Omicron variant are increasing, especially after the holidays.
