Customers will be banned from Lebanon’s restaurants, beaches and hotels from next week unless they prove they are either immunised or free of the coronavirus, the Tourism Ministry said.
People over 16 years of age must present proof of vaccination, evidence of a recent coronavirus infection or a negative Covid-19 test to be allowed into tourist spots.
“Tourist establishments, hotels, restaurants, cafes, amusement parks, sea resorts and all institutions under the authority of the ministry must work within a safe, coronavirus-free environment,” the statement said.
The circular, issued on Friday, follows a rise in Covid-19 cases at the height of the tourist season, when Lebanese citizens living abroad return home.
Doctors say the rise in cases could signal a new wave of infections, which cash-strapped authorities are ill-equipped to contain.
Dr Firass Abiad, who runs Lebanon’s largest public hospital, said last week on Twitter that “summer vacation in Lebanon is over. Covid is increasing at an exponential rate.”
Lebanon recorded 1,502 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday, the highest number of daily infections since April. One new Covid-19 death was announced.
Head of Lebanon’s Covid-19 vaccination committee, Doctor Abdulrahman Bizri, said that while the new decision was theoretically sound, it may be difficult to implement, as well as discriminatory.
“We cannot demand that everyone show proof of vaccination if there are not enough vaccines,” he said, pointing to the country’s slow inoculation campaign.
The government is using the measures as an alternative to lockdowns as cases rise, he said, but the new rules “do not take into consideration Lebanon’s difficult reality.”
Lebanon has been in economic freefall since late 2019 due to decades of corruption and a lack of foreign currency reserves. More than half of the population has become poor according to UN data as inflation slashes purchasing power.
Coronavirus around the world - in pictures
Public health officials attribute the sharp rise in coronavirus cases to the spread of the highly infectious Delta variant. They say it is responsible for up to 80 per cent of new cases.
Lebanon’s relatively low vaccination rate and the lack of border restrictions have fuelled rising infections.
The tourism ministry’s circular covers employees of the tourism sector, who “must receive the vaccine or present a negative PCR test every 72 hours” within two weeks, the circular said.
From Monday, the authorities will crack down on those who fail to abide by the rules.
A spokeswoman for the trade union representing restaurant, cafe and nightclub owners said its members were prepared to enforce the ministry’s decision but had received no specific instructions on how to do so.
“The circular was issued right before the weekend so we didn’t get any additional information. We are waiting to know more on Monday,” she said.
The lowdown
Bohemian Rhapsody
Director: Bryan Singer
Starring: Rami Malek, Lucy Boynton, Gwilym Lee
Rating: 3/5
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.6-litre V6
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 285bhp
Torque: 353Nm
Price: TBA
On sale: Q2, 2020
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press
RACE CARD AND SELECTIONS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
The National selections
5pm: RB Hot Spot
5.30pm: Dahess D’Arabie
6pm: Taamol
6.30pm: Rmmas
7pm: RB Seqondtonone
7.30pm: AF Mouthirah
RESULTS
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
Winner: Shafaf, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5,30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,200m
Winner: Noof KB, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel
6pm: The President’s Cup Listed (TB) Dh380,000 1,400m
Winner: Taamol, Jim Crowley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe
6.30pm: The President’s Cup Group One (PA) Dh2,500,000 2,200m
Winner: Rmmas, Tadhg O’Shea, Jean de Roualle
7pm: Arabian Triple Crown Listed (PA) Dh230,000 1,600m
Winner: Ihtesham, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Mekhbat, Antonio Fresu, Ernst Oertel
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch automatic
Power: 169bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh54,500
On sale: now
More on Turkey's Syria offence
Results
4pm: Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m; Winner: Emblem Storm, Oisin Murphy (jockey), Satish Seemar (trainer).
4.35pm: Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Wafy, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
5.10pm: Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m; Winner: Wildman Jack, Fernando Jara, Doug O’Neill.
5.45pm: Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Salute The Soldier, Adrie de Vries, Fawzi Nass.
6.20pm: Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m; Winner: Barney Roy, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
6.55pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Matterhorn, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer.
7.30pm: Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m; Winner: Loxley, Mickael Barzalona, Charlie Appleby.
RESULTS
Manchester United 2
Anthony Martial 30'
Scott McTominay 90 6'
Manchester City 0
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
heading
Iran has sent five planeloads of food to Qatar, which is suffering shortages amid a regional blockade.
A number of nations, including Iran's major rival Saudi Arabia, last week cut ties with Qatar, accusing it of funding terrorism, charges it denies.
The land border with Saudi Arabia, through which 40% of Qatar's food comes, has been closed.
Meanwhile, mediators Kuwait said that Qatar was ready to listen to the "qualms" of its neighbours.
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
Rashid & Rajab
Director: Mohammed Saeed Harib
Stars: Shadi Alfons, Marwan Abdullah, Doaa Mostafa Ragab
Two stars out of five
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
