If you plan on visiting Lebanon, you might want to make sure you come from a country that does PCR tests. Otherwise, you may spend a fair amount of your vacation time in quarantine.
All travelers that drop down in Beirut from countries without PCR tests will have to be quarantined in hotels chosen by the Health Ministry.
The hotels will be selected at “measured prices in coordination with the Minister of Tourism,” said Health Minister Hamad Hassan on Tuesday.
On Monday, Minister Hassan stated that Lebanon was “in the eye of the virus storm” adding on Tuesday that the country was nearing the 4th stage of the coronavirus transmission, which is when the outbreak becomes uncontrollable.
“We will work hard to improve the situation and get back to the 3rd stage,” he promised.
It’s worth noting that at stage 3, the virus spreads within a community and cannot be traced, but can be contained by geographical lockdowns.
Since the airport reopened on June 1st, Lebanon has recorded over 1,700 new cases. That’s more cases than Lebanon had since the beginning of the outbreak in February until June.
The dramatic increase is no doubt a result of travelers who fail to self-isolate as well as citizens who fail to abide by the proper safety measures, such as social distancing, sanitizing, and wearing a mask, like at the infamous Batroun pool party.
Recently, a young doctor in Lebanon passed away after contracting the virus from a patient he was intubating. He was the first hero to die from the virus in Lebanon.
The coronavirus situation in Lebanon is spiraling, but the Health Ministry is doing what it can to manage the outbreak and trace the virus.
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.
