by aawsat.com -- Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab pledged on Thursday to protect small bank deposits, however, he fell short of revealing when depositors would be allowed to access their money. “Ask the Governor of the Central Bank (Riad Salameh),” Diab replied when asked by a journalist when they would be able to withdraw their money from local banks. Following a cabinet session at the Baabda palace on Thursday, the PM said the US dollar exchange rate crisis remains a major problem that needs to be resolved, pledging to protect 90 percent of the country's depositors, most of whom have relatively small accounts. Since last October, the exchange rate of the dollar against the Lebanese pound in the parallel market registered an unprecedented rise, lately exceeding LBP 2,800. The devaluation of the pound is mainly due to the decline in the dollar’s supply in the market, as a result of bank restrictions that prevent depositors from withdrawing their money.

by UN RC/HC Lebanon -- Thursday, 9 April 2020 (United Nations) – In recent weeks, Lebanon had to adapt to new restrictions imposed by the government, in an effort to curtail the outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic in Lebanon. United Nations (UN) agencies in Lebanon are fully engaged in assisting Lebanon in responding to the unfolding health crisis. Joining hands with local partners, including governmental entities and civil society, the UN is working on preventing and containing the transmission of the virus and avoiding an overstretching of the health system, as well as responding to rising socio-economic challenges generated by the economic and financial crisis now exacerbated by the health emergency. “Lebanon is going through an unprecedented emergency, requiring all of us to ramp up our actions to contain and stop the transmission of the virus”, said Acting UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Claudio Cordone. “The UN family in Lebanon has geared its efforts to support the government and is working with partners to respond to this pandemic. Today, more than ever, coordinated and decisive action is key to attenuate the impact of this crisis on all those throughout Lebanon who are hit the hardest, namely the poorest and the most vulnerable,” Cordone added.

by Sunniva Rose -- thenational.ae -- Lebanon’s Health Ministry reported on Wednesday that 11 passengers who flew back to Lebanon from Spain and France the previous day tested positive for Covid19. These are the first cases of coronavirus among the hundreds of Lebanese who started flying home on Sunday from Africa and Europe on a special repatriation programme at their own expense. “Seven out of 108 passengers were infected with Covid-19 on board of a plane that transported expatriates and arrived yesterday from Madrid. Four passengers out of 118 aboard an aircraft arriving from Paris were also confirmed to be infected,” stated the Health Ministry in a press release. Infected passengers will be taken to hospital while others must self-quarantine for two weeks, the statement said. The Health Ministry will check that those who are not infected respect confinement orders. Lebanese expatriates started flying in from Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Ivory Coast and Nigeria on Sunday. Passengers all tested negative until Wednesday, according to local authorities.

By Nisan Ahmado -- voanews.com -- Hoda Kerbage, 39, starts her day by putting on gloves and a face mask, sanitizing her hands, and disinfecting her shoes and car before hopping behind the steering wheel for a journey to deliver aid packages to families in need all over Lebanon. Her new daily routine, started since the outbreak of coronavirus in Lebanon in March, is divided among collecting donations, sanitizing them and packaging them before their delivery to those in need. Kerbage, an activist and author from the Matn district of Beirut, is a part of a campaign known as A’Kadna Initiative run by dozens of Lebanese activists helping desperate Lebanese during a nationwide lockdown because of the COVID-19 pandemic. “We are a group of volunteers and activists from all walks of life who came together and started several initiatives to support families in need,” Kerbage told VOA. “We reach out to people who have lost their jobs because of the pandemic, the elderly in need of care and those who have weak immune systems and can’t go out to get what they need during the lockdown.” Already suffering from a severe financial meltdown and political instability, Lebanon has been hit hard by the contagious coronavirus in recent weeks. The World Health Organization has recorded 548 positive cases with 60 recovered and 19 deaths. The Lebanese government is registering new cases every day despite tough measures, including social distancing and a curfew from 7 p.m. till 5 a.m.

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