The Ministry of Interior and Municipalities released a circular that regulates traffic on the basis of even and odd license plate numbers, as a new preventive measure against the COVID-19 outbreak in Lebanon.
As per the decision, which was announced on Sunday, April 5th, personal and public vehicles with license plates that end in an odd digit will be permitted to operate exclusively on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.
On the other hand, cars with license plates ending in an even digit, including zero, will be allowed on roads only on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. As for Sundays, the Minister of Interior decided that no vehicles will be allowed to operate.
The vehicles exempt from this rationing, according to the official circular, are those of the army and security forces, medical workers and pharmacists, Civil Defense and Red Cross, diplomats, media, delivery services, and other essential transport services.
The new decision comes as a follow-up to the government’s general mobilization rules and will become active on Monday, April 6th, until further notice.
In the circular, the Ministry of Interior explained that the decision was made because a large number of citizens have not been adhering to self-quarantine and social distancing guidelines.
Starting on Monday, security forces across Lebanon will be enforcing the odd/even rationing of vehicles, which aims to force people to commit to the general mobilization and combat the spread of COVID-19.
