Lebanese optimistic as number of coronavirus cases decline

Pedestrians walk behind a billboard calling residents to stay at home in Beirut's downtown district, during the coronavirus pandemic crisis, on April 19, 2020. (AFP)

• Health ministry teams continue to carry out random virus tests in Baalbek, Zahle, Tripoli, and Akkar
• Bakeries on Sunday backed down on their decision to suspend distribution of break to supermarkets and shops due to “high distribution cost”

BEIRUT: The number of new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) cases in Lebanon fell on Sunday with only one infection reported, raising the total number to 673. The number of fatalities remains 21.
Lebanese Interior Minister Mohamed Fahmy announced that the night-time curfew will start an hour later, at 8 p.m. instead of 7 p.m. The decision follows an extension in the opening times of supermarkets and restaurants that offer home delivery.
Health ministry teams continue to carry out random virus tests in Baalbek, Zahle, Tripoli, and Akkar. A similar campaign was carried out in Beirut, parts of Mount Lebanon and the south.
“The results of these tests are expected to help verify the possibility of societal infections and unannounced cases, to determine the course of the pandemic in Lebanon, and decide the steps to be taken,” Health Minister Hamad Hassan said.
Dr. Abdul-Rahman Al-Bizri, an infectious diseases specialist and member of the Health ministry’s crisis committee, said that “the number of cases is declining and this is an important indication. We went through a period in which the number of cases increased and we started to descend the pyramid. If the number continues to decrease, this means that we are in control of the pandemic in Lebanon and it will be encouraging to alleviate the restrictions imposed on people.”
Dr. Al-Bizri said: “We will not apply herd immunity because we followed harsh measures. This may lead to a gradual reopening of the country.”
With regard to the random tests that are taking place, Al-Bizri said: “These tests provide us with a picture of the status of the infections that occurred and not what will occur. Their results do not mean any change in the current data.”
Bakeries on Sunday backed down on their decision to suspend distribution of break to supermarkets and shops due to “high distribution cost.”
Bakeries had said they would raise the price of a loaf of bread delivered to shops and supermarkets to LBP 1,750 ($1.16) — in bakeries a loaf costs LBP 1,500.
Bakery owners retracted their decision after pressure from the Ministry of Economy and regional municipalities. Had it been implemented, the higher price would have added to the worries of the Lebanese.
Greek Orthodox Archbishop Elias Odeh, in an Easter sermon in Beirut, demanded that the government to “lift Lebanon out of its crisis without the citizens having to pay the price of the mistakes and quarrels of their rulers.”
Odeh reminded the officials of the popular uprising six months ago “because they could no longer tolerate exploitation.” He called on the government to “implement the real reforms that it had promised, which will satisfy the people, not the political class and (political) parties.”