Public Actions

 Lebanon’s Interior Ministry relaxed coronavirus lockdown measures Thursday, cutting curfew by four hours and allowing most businesses to reopen at 50 percent capacity.

Starting Friday, curfew will now be implemented between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. Businesses including restaurants, cafes, malls, markets and gyms will be permitted to operate at 50 percent capacity. People will also be permitted to enter public parks and the corniche before curfew.

Travelers arriving or departing from Rafik Hariri International Airport will be permitted transport to and from the airport.

Social events and gatherings remain banned.

Lebanon is currently under a two-week lockdown to stem the spread of an alarming spike in coronavirus cases across the country. The lockdown is expected to end Sept. 6.

Coronavirus cases detected among the local population surged in August, with 69 percent of all local cases recorded between Aug. 1 and Aug. 24. A total of 8,300 local cases were detected during that period, out of a total 12,039 since Feb. 21.

The Interior Ministry’s announcement comes after Lebanon’s food and beverage sector said it would defy coronavirus lockdown measures earlier this week, due to a lack of government assistance during the economic crisis which has been compounded by the catastrophic Beirut Port explosion.