Al Abyad: Lebanese authorities easing partial lockdown is unfortunate...

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Director of Rafic Hariri University Hospital Dr. Firas al-Abyad said on Friday that “it was unfortunate that Lebanese authorities eased the partial lockdown on the same day when the country reported the highest number of new Coronavirus cases since the start of the pandemic.”

“Authorities came under great pressure from the business sectors and syndicates to ease the lockdown. Threats of disobedience were made. With the difficult economic conditions and the civil unrest, authorities clearly wanted to avoid any escalation,” he said in a series of tweets on his Twitter account.

He also noted that compliance with the lockdown was neither high nor equal across the country, adding that it coincided with a campaign on social media questioning official Covid19 numbers and discrediting test results.

“Authorities felt the lockdown was not working,” al-Abyad stressed.

He also stressed that the decision to ease the partial lockdown so early before achieving any tangible results “makes taking any similar or unpopular measure against Covid19 in the future more difficult.”

“The absence of clarity on the number of available Covid19 hospital beds has further eroded public confidence. With the increasing demand for ICU beds, people are wondering why more beds have not been made available. Though, the increase in beds in the public sector is noted,” he stressed.

“As new Covid19 cases keep soaring, do businesses really expect the economic activity will not be affected? What is the alternative strategy proposed by the authorities? Can Covid19 be contained without a coordinated collective effort?” al-Abyad went on by saying.

“The response of the hospitals on the night of the explosion shows that the health sector has a large capacity,” he added.

Al-Abyad asserted that “a well formulated and well communicated strategy, endorsed and accountable to by all, is a must.”

“Execution will be key. At this stage, failure is not an option,” he concluded by saying.