ReliefWeb

This report is prepared by OCHA, on behalf of and in collaboration with UN agencies and partners involved in COVID-19 response efforts in Lebanon. The report covers the period from 10-23 June 2020

Situation

• During the reporting period from 10-23 June, an additional 254 people have been confirmed as infected with the COVID-19. This brings the total number of reported cases since 21 February 2020 to 1,622, of whom 58 per cent are male and 42 per cent female (as of 23 June 2020). This includes 74 healthcare workers, of which 47 workers (63.5 per cent) are female, mostly working in institutions dealing with the COVID-19 response, and 32 deaths, of which 24 (75 per cent) are male.

• Confirmed cases have been traced with limited local transmission and Lebanon is still in phase 3 of the COVID-19 outbreak.

• Six additional Palestine refugees living in Saida were confirmed as COVID-19 positive; four refugees are under home isolation, while other two were admitted to Rafiq Hariri University Hospital (RHUH) and later discharged to complete their recovery at the Sibline isolation centre. A total of 15 Palestine refugees have been confirmed as COVID-19 positive since 21 February. Further, 92 Syrian refugees living in urban areas with clusters of cases among the local populations have tested positive for COVID-19. Additionally, four Sudanese and Ethiopian migrant workers were confirmed as infected during the reporting period.

• On 14 and 20 June, the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) issued two separate circulars lifting the restriction of vehicular movement as per the odd/even plate numbers starting on 14 June, and permitting nightclubs and bars, public markets, public parks and garden, and social event halls and ballrooms to open starting on 21 June, while the daily curfew remains from midnight to 05.00 and the national state of ‘general mobilization’ continues until 5 July. On June 12, the Prime Minister’s office stated that Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport will re-open for commercial flights beginning July 1, with 10 per cent of air traffic capacity in comparison to a year ago (2,000 passengers daily).

Highlights

• On 15 June, the MoIM issued a circular on the operationalization of isolation centres, which clarified isolation measures, criteria for isolation, administration, and governance and management of the centres.

• Among the 38 isolation centres approved by the government, four centres, Akkar (Tal Hayat), Majdal Anjar, Sibline, and Wardanieh (run by a municipality and supported by the UN), are operational, and 12 others are under preparation.

• The terms of reference and establishment of a COVID-Rapid Response Team (C-RRT) for Beirut and Mount Lebanon (BML) have been agreed on and finalized, building on the existing Lebanon Crisis Response Plan (LCRP) Inter Sector RRT mechanism, in collaboration with the Governor’s office,
  Disaster Risk Management (DRM) unit committees and relevant municipalities to ensure a coordinated COVID-19 response.

• Procurement of the first batch of in-kind food and targeting of beneficiaries to start the distribution of food parcels to 50,000 Lebanese families in early July for six months.
  Further, food parcels will also become available for potential distribution to up to 40,000 Syrian families residing in informal tented settlements, should these locations come under lockdown due to COVID-19 related isolation measures.

• So far, about 13 per cent, or US$12 million, of the total requested budget under Priorities 1 and 2 of the LEA has been funded. Funded activities include for infection prevention and control (IPC), severe case management, isolation centres, national laboratories, personal protective equipment (PPEs) distribution at points of entry, and developing/disseminating messages and information material on prevention of COVID-19