DUBAI: Lebanon is carefully balancing the re-opening of its tourism and hospitality sectors amid the continuing coronavirus pandemic, which could harm public health should these businesses be allowed to operate again without health protocols in place.
“Reopening restaurants and cafes is vital for the tourism and services sector, however the Lebanese health remains the basis,” Lebanese President Michel Aoun said on Twitter, in a report from state news agency NNA.
“Therefore, we are closely following-up deliberations of the coronavirus committee with the concerned economic sectors to reach procedures for re-operating in this sector according to strict health measures”.
إن إعادة فتح المطاعم والمقاهي هي امر حيوي لقطاع السياحة والخدمات، ولكن تبقى صحة اللبنانيين هي الاساس. لذلك نتابع عن كثب مناقشات لجنة مكافحة الكورونا مع القطاعات الاقتصادية المعنية للتوصل الى إجراءات اعادة العمل في هذا القطاع وفق شروط صحية صارمة.
— General Michel Aoun (@General_Aoun) August 26, 2020
The country’s tourism and hospitality sectors are a major dollar earner, with direct and indirect receipts amounting to $10.4 billion making up 19.1 percent of the Lebanese economy – the second highest in the Middle East region.
Lebanon however has been plagued by street protests, earlier prompted by a foreign currency liquidity crisis, resulting in a vicious cycle by impacting on the dollar-earning tourism segment – as well as the wider economy – due to the resulting uncertainty and instability.
The onset of coronavirus likewise exacerbated the sector’s misfortunes, with 531 new infections raising the country’s caseload to 14,248.
At Rafic Hariri University Hospital, officials there said there are 70 coronavirus patients admitted in the facility, with 26 under critical care, while 18 suspected cases were transferred from hospitals overnight.
The number of COVID-19 tests during the past 24 hours also reached 932, hospital authorities said.
