A Bundle Of English Reports, News and Editorials For March 29-30/2020 Addressing All That is happing In the Iranian Occupied & Oppressed Lebanon
Compiled By: Elias Bejjani
March 30/2020
Titles For The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 29-30/2020
Our Father, Almighty God Is Our Sole Refuge/Elias Bejjani/March 29/2020
Lebanon Virus Cases Hit 438 as Two More Patients Die
Hariri Hospital: Number of recovered patients rises to 32, two cases released to be home quarantined
Health Ministry: 438 lab-confirmed Coronavirus cases in Lebanon
Lebanese Gov’t to Return Expats Stranded Abroad
Lebanese security forces tear down Beirut protest camp as country imposes coronavirus measures
Army Patrol Comes under Fire in Baalbek Town
Lebanese Helicopter Evacuates Army Officers from Egypt
Makiya: Test results reveal that there are no infected cases among Cabinet members, despite extensive meetings
Jumblatt calls for establishing mutual funds in villages to help the underprivileged
Fadlallah: Contacts yielded a kind of understanding over return of Lebanese from abroad, within the framework of a sound health plan
African Continental Council Chairman in a letter to Diab: We propose an evacuation plan from Africa without charging the state any cost
A new Lebanon will emerge after Corona,’ Frem says
Foreign Ministry places hotline numbers for embassies, consulates abroad
Abdel Samad: Communication door is open to anyone possessing information on waste expenditure
Govt. to Adopt Expat Return Mechanism Tuesday after Berri Warning
Aswad Slams Calls for Bringing Home Expats as Farce
Lebanon may extend virus curbs as death rate rises/Najia Houssari/Arab News/March 29, 2020
Lebanon hospitals ‘discriminating against’ undocumented workers seeking vital coronavirus testing/The New Arab/March 29/2020
Stimulus billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortage crisis/Associated Press/March 29/2020
Virus Measures Spark Lebanon, Mideast Fears of Liberties Setback/Agence France Presse/Naharnet//March 29/2020
The Latest English LCCC Lebanese & Lebanese Related News & Editorials published on March 29-30/2020
Our Father, Almighty God Is Our Sole Refuge
Elias Bejjani/March 29/2020
أبانا السماوي هو ملجأنا الوحيد
In the midst of the Corona Virus spread and hazards we are ought to pray and pray for the recovery of all those who are sick and specially for the ones who are either unable to take care of themselves, or living in countries where the health services are not good or unqualified to deal with the corona spread.
Currently, in the face of the Corona Virus attack the whole world is in state on fear and confusion.
Yes it is very true and extremely wise to resort to science and scientists hoping for a curing drug or a preventative vaccine, but at the same we have to hold on to Jesus Christ and pray and pray that our Father, Almighty God Who definitely shall come rescue us at the right tome, we His children.
It remains that faith is a very powerful means for hope when it is genuine and solid.
John 09:39: “I came into this world for judgment, that those who don’t see may see; and that those who see may become blind.”
The faithful all over the world strongly believe that Jesus is the holy and blessed light through which believers can see God’s paths of righteousness.
There is no doubt that without Jesus’ light, evil darkness will prevail in peoples’ hearts, souls and minds.
Without Jesus’ presence in our lives we definitely will become preys to all kinds of evil temptations.
John 09:5: “While I am in the world, I am the light of the world”.
In every community, there are individuals from all walks of life who are spiritually blind, lacking faith, have no hope, and live in dim darkness because they have distanced themselves from Almighty God and from His Gospel, although their eyes are physically perfectly functional and healthy.
Meanwhile the actual blindness is not in the eyes that can not see because of physical ailments, but in the hearts that are hardened, in the consciences that are numbed and in the spirits that are defiled with sin.
Romans 8:26: “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans”
Sadly our contemporary world hails atheism, brags about secularism and persecutes those who have faith in God and believe in Him and belief strongly that He is our only sanctuary and refuge in face of all kinds of evil temptations.
Where ever we live, there are opportunists and hypocrites who advocate for the denial of faith and all that is love, forgiveness, humbleness, sharing and peace.
Meanwhile, Christian believers do suffer dire persecution in many countries on the hands of ruthless oppressors, Jihadists and rulers who refuse to witness for the truth.
But despite of all the dim spiritual darkness, thanks God, there are still too many meek believers who hold strong to their faith no matters what the obstacles or hurdles are.
In the midst of the Corona Virus plague we call on the loving and merciful Lord to enlighten our minds and hearts with His light and open our eyes to realize that He is our only refuge.
Lord Help us to solidify and strengthen our faith.
Lord help us to defeat all kinds of sin that might take us away from Your light, and deliver us all from all evil temptations.
Lebanon Virus Cases Hit 438 as Two More Patients Die
Naharnet//March 29, 2020
Lebanon’s confirmed coronavirus cases surged 26 over the past 24 hours to reach 438, as two elderly virus patients passed away, the Health Ministry said on Sunday. In a statement, the Ministry said the tally includes cases reported by the state-run Rafik Hariri University Hospital and private hospitals and laboratories. It also said that the two patients who died were both in their eighties and suffering from underlying chronic illnesses. “One of them died at the Saint George Hospital University as the other died at the Hôtel-Dieu de France hospital, which raises the death toll to 10,” the Hospital added. Lebanon has imposed a four-week lockdown in a bid to contain the spread of the virus while closing the country’s air, land and sea ports of entry. It upped the measures on Friday by ordering grocery shops, supermarkets, and restaurants offering delivery services to close at 5pm. It has also declared a curfew that starts at 7:00 pm, asking citizens and residents not to leave their homes unless it is extremely necessary. Pharmacies, bakeries, mills and medical factories were meanwhile allowed to operate during the curfew.
Hariri Hospital: Number of recovered patients rises to 32, two cases released to be home quarantined
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
Rafic Hariri University Hospital announced on Sunday, in its daily report on the latest developments on the Corona Covid- 19 virus, that the total number of laboratory-confirmed infected cases that were quarantined in the hospital’s health isolation section reached 65 cases, adding that 7 cases suspected to be infected with the virus were transferred to the Hariri Hospital from other hospitals. The hospital report also indicated that two infected cases have recovered today after their PCR examination tests turned out negative in both times, thus bringing the total number of complete recoveries to 32 cases.
“According to the directives of the World Health Organization and the Ministry of Public Health, two cases of coronavirus were released from the hospital to be home quarantined, after the attending physician confirmed the patients’ clinical recovery, and informed them of all measures and instructions related to their home quarantine, in terms of dealing with others, personal hygiene, how to eat and how to get rid of waste garbage, monitoring their daily temperature, etc…,” the report indicated. “All those infected with the coronavirus are receiving the necessary care in the isolation unit, and their condition is stable, except for 4 cases in critical condition,” the report added. In conclusion, the Hariri Hospital indicated that more information on the number of infected cases on all Lebanese territories can be found in the daily report issued by the Ministry of Public Health.
Health Ministry: 438 lab-confirmed Coronavirus cases in Lebanon
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
The Ministry of Public Health announced, in a statement on Sunday, that “twenty-six new laboratory-confirmed cases infected with the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) have been registered, including the cases diagnosed at the Rafic Hariri Governmental Hospital, and those reported from other university hospitals accredited by the Ministry.””The total number of confirmed Corona patients until today, March 29, has reached 438 cases,” the Ministry’s statement added. In wake of the increase in the number of infected cases, the Ministry reiterated the crucial need to implement all preventive measures and reminded all citizens to strictly remain at home.
Lebanese Gov’t to Return Expats Stranded Abroad
Beirut – Asharq Al-Awsat/Sunday, 29 March, 2020
Threats made by the Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri worked in resolving the issue of returning Lebanese expats home, as an emergency ministerial meeting was held, headed by Prime Minister Hassan Diab to finalize the evacuation mechanisms. Berri threatened on Saturday to suspend his support for Prime Minister Hassan Diab’s government if it did not act to bring home expatriates stranded abroad during the coronavirus pandemic. Sources told Asharq Al-Awsat that the decision on repatriating citizens to Lebanon on board was made Saturday through arranged flights, but the execution mechanisms will be announced on Tuesday after the cabinet meeting on the coronavirus crisis is concluded. Diab had stressed that the government supports the return of all expats who wish to do so, especially after it was proven that the measures taken by the government have gained internal and foreign confidence, and have proven their effectiveness. He reiterated his previous position by emphasizing on “safety”, saying that the Health Minister alongside the designated emergency committee are preparing for an appropriate mechanism for a safe return. He added that the mechanism, which include screening those willing to return for COVID-19, will go into effect as soon as the required equipment and materials are secured. Foreign Minister Nassif Hitti said on Thursday that Lebanese citizens abroad must undergo a test to make sure they are not carrying coronavirus before boarding a flight home. Hitti told Asharq Al-Awsat that repatriating expats to Lebanon is the prerogative of cabinet, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is simply implementing the decisions taken by the cabinet, as is the case of other ministries. He revealed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is currently completing data collection on the situation of Lebanese expatriates in order to take appropriate measures when cabinet decides on what to do. Hitti pointed out that his ministry, through Lebanese missions abroad, is currently following up the situation of expats stranded abroad, and providing assistance when needed, especially to students.
Lebanese security forces tear down Beirut protest camp as country imposes coronavirus measures
The New Arab/March 29/2020
A protest camp in Lebanon’s capital city was stripped away by security forces on Saturday, as Beirut’s mocked roads began to open following months of anti-government protests. The Martyrs’ Square protest camp, which had for weeks been the epicentre of the country’s demonstrations against the the governing elite, was cleared away as authorities imposed measures to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus. Several dozen protesters who had remained at the camp since it was first erected on October 17 resisted the move on Friday night, with witnesses saying a demonstrator set himself on fire before being quickly smothered in blankets by members of the security forces, Reuters reported. One of the most indebted countries in the world, Lebanon is burdened by a public debt equivalent to more than 170 percent of GDP. The unprecedented anti-government protests quickly spread across the country and sought to dislodge a ruling elite seen as incompetent and corrupt. The country is embroiled in one of its worst economic crises since the 1975-1990 civil war, now compounded by an outbreak of the novel coronavirus. In a bid to halt the spread of the illness, the government has ordered a lockdown until April 12 and ordered all non-essential businesses to close. The finance ministry’s director-general Alain Bifani warned that the pandemic would only “exacerbate the deterioration of social conditions”. He said 45 percent of Lebanese already lived in poverty, and 22 percent in extreme poverty.He predicted the economy would further contract by around 12 percent this year, and inflation would reach up to 25 percent. Even before the coronavirus, prices had soared and many businesses had been forced to slash salaries, fire staff or close.
Army Patrol Comes under Fire in Baalbek Town
Naharnet//March 29, 2020
An army patrol came under gunfire Sunday during a raid to arrest fugitives from “the M. family” in the Baalbek district town of Maqneh, the National News Agency said. “This prompted the patrol’s members to respond in kind, which resulted in the wounding in the leg of A.A.M. before he was arrested with another person,” NNA added.
Lebanese Helicopter Evacuates Army Officers from Egypt
Naharnet//March 29, 2020
A Lebanese Army helicopter has flown to Egypt and returned ten Lebanese officers and a non-commissioned officer to Lebanon amid the coronavirus pandemic, the army said on Sunday. The military noted that the eleven personnel had been on a training mission. “Where duty requires us to be, we will be,” the army said, referring to the evacuation mission. Lebanon closed its airport to all commercial passenger flights on March 18 as part of a so-called state of general mobilization against the coronavirus pandemic. The country has so far recorded 438 coronavirus cases among them 10 deaths and at least 30 recoveries.The Cabinet will convene on Tuesday to approve a plan aimed at repatriating Lebanese expats seeking to return home due to the global coronavirus crisis.
Makiya: Test results reveal that there are no infected cases among Cabinet members, despite extensive meetings
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
The Press Office of Prime Minister Hassan Diab announced in a statement on Sunday, that after conducting the PCR examination for Corona virus at the Government Serail yesterday, the Secretary-General of the Council of Ministers, Judge Mahmoud Makiya, said via his Twitter Account: “After saluting those who risk their health and the health of their families to help the infected, we salute those who believe in the continuity of the work of state facilities…Prevention has resulted in the absence of any virus infection in the ranks of the Cabinet as per the laboratory test results, despite the Cabinet’s extensive meetings.”“Our only choice is to win, and we shall be victorious…Council of Ministers – With our solidarity, we succeed!” vowed Makiya.
Jumblatt calls for establishing mutual funds in villages to help the underprivileged
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
Progressive Socialist Party Chief, Walid Jumblatt, said Sunday via his Twitter account: “I extend my gratitude to all the municipalities for their hard work in the fight against the epidemic. I also thank those who are taking personal initiatives in the field of sterilization, such as the designed innovations, which I hope would be circulated. On another note, the villages are called upon to establish mutual funds for the needy, while waiting for the state to carry out its duties.”In an earlier tweet, Jumblatt had saluted “all comrades in the Progressive Socialist Party and the people, in their tremendous effort to ensure prevention and spread awareness at all levels in this existential and fateful war in the face of the epidemic of death.” He also hailed “every individual or party in the nation during this challenge,” adding, “We are at the beginning of the road.”
Fadlallah: Contacts yielded a kind of understanding over return of Lebanese from abroad, within the framework of a sound health plan
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
Member of the “Loyalty to the Resistance” Parliamentary Bloc, MP Hassan Fadlallah, disclosed Sunday that the recently held contacts by Hezbollah over the issue of the Lebanese expatriates wishing to return to their country, have yielded a kind of understanding to ensure their safe return within the framework of a sound health plan that ensures the safety of both the residents and emigrants. He considered that what is required at this stage is that all sides cooperate and join efforts to address the challenges and come up with the right solutions. Fadlallah’s words came during an inspection visit to the Civil Defense Center at the “Islamic Health Authority for Ambulance and Rescue” in Bint Jbeil today, in addition to visiting new centers for quarantine in the area, to see the readiness of these centers to deal with any emergency cases in need of quarantine or infected with corona virus.
“There are great preparations at different levels, especially at the health and medical levels, and we are awaiting the Bint Jbeil Governmental Hospital to be equipped and ready to receive the infected cases or for quarantine purposes, as well as other health institutions, whether public or private hospitals, which are in a state of alert to protect the health of citizens and our people in this region and throughout the south,” Fadlallah assured. He stressed that “the commitment rate in this region is high, whether at the level of quarantine or the cancellation of all gatherings, or at the level of people staying at home,” adding, “We renew our emphasis on this matter, and the need for more strictness by municipalities to preserve the health and wellbeing of citizens.”
African Continental Council Chairman in a letter to Diab: We propose an evacuation plan from Africa without charging the state any cost
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
The Chair of the African Continental Council at the Lebanese World Cultural League, Consul Hassan Yahfoufi, has stressed the Council’s readiness “to assist the government in evacuating the Lebanese who wish to return from Africa during these health conditions resulting from the Corona virus, while the situation is still under control and the number of infected is minimal among the Lebanese, amidst the fear that the disease will spread.” In a letter addressed to Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Sunday, Yahfoufi outlined an integrated plan for the return of expatriates who wish to leave the African continent, provided that all those who will return pay the travel expenses, stressing that “further waiting may lead to complicating matters.”He explained that some expatriates were able to obtain two offers to purchase PCR tests from two labs in South Korea and China, and they promised to secure them in just two days. Therefore, every Lebanese expatriate community will purchase its needs from these tests at its own expense, and will also purchase part of these tests for the African countries in an affirmed social solidarity and moral commitment with the citizens of these countries.
Yahfoufi also indicated that some communities have conducted a comprehensive survey of those wishing to return and can provide the Lebanese state with a list of names before sending the planes for evacuation, after ensuring that the PCR tests have been secured and provided that there are equipped medical teams on board the aircraft. Furthermore, the test results must be negative before boarding the plane, while those who test positive will remain aside until they are later evacuated in a safer manner, after pledging to abide by all the procedures required by the Ministry of Health upon their arrival in Lebanon, in terms of quarantine and additional medical exams, etc. Meanwhile, Yahfoufi commended PM Diab and the government’s efforts in this regard, stressing “the full readiness to cooperate with all state agencies and institutions according to what the government deems appropriate in these circumstances.”
A new Lebanon will emerge after Corona,’ Frem says
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
Head of the “Economy, Trade, Industry and Planning” Parliamentary Committee, MP Neemat Frem, highlighted in an interview with “Al-Quds Al-Arabi” on Sunday, the need “to allocate a 1.5 billion US dollars fund for the rapid support of citizens due to the Corona crisis.”
He explained that this can be funded from the money saved during this period, in light of the saved energy production with a drop in the price of the oil barrel and the lower cost of production, since people are staying at home, which has led to a decrease in the cost between 300 to 400 million dollars a month.
On the possibility of isolating the regions of Keserwan and Jbeil, Frem indicated that “this suggestion was a wrong and unofficial idea that has been withdrawn, and it did not happen during the Lebanese civil war.” He stressed on staying away from “political trivialities” and adhering to the slogan of his electoral campaign, “Human First”, whilst expecting that “a new Lebanon will be born after the Corona virus.”He continued to note that “the government has acted in a good manner so far, in terms of limiting the spread of the Corona epidemic.” However, he considered that “it has started to make huge mistakes, the first being its decision not to exclude factories from the curfew, but rather to prevent factories from working at night.”Over the state’s financial situation, Frem pointed to Lebanon’s need for the International Monetary Fund, and the international monetary community as a whole. “Cooperation is required to change our economic system in order to be able to pay off the debt and restore growth in the country, and this can only be achieved through a major restructuring of sectors in the state, and through partnership with the Lebanese and international private sector to attract more capitals to Lebanon,” he emphasized.
“We encourage restructuring in the public sector, and improvement in services for citizens,” Frem added. “We have to support the productive sectors of industry and agriculture, and we must realize that we cannot rely solely on services and a ‘rentier’ economy,” the MP went on. He deemed that this crisis has demonstrated the extent that the industrial sector can absorb the shocks and act as an auxiliary and complementary component to the Lebanese national security. “After Corona, we must know as a conscious people the extent of our capabilities, and that through the dreams of our children we can influence the Lebanese political class, the future of the new Lebanon and the new Lebanon that will emerge,” Frem underlined. “In my opinion, I believe that we will benefit greatly from the lessons of Corona, which are complementary to the revolution, and I see that our Lord revolts with us to create a new Lebanon,” he concluded.
Foreign Ministry places hotline numbers for embassies, consulates abroad
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigrants placed the numbers of the hotlines of Lebanese embassies and consulates abroad at the disposal of Lebanese citizens and expatriate communities for emergency cases, which are available at the following link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/12e5M8rDy2WX9XDatSuoQXThQceC45jy0/viewm
Abdel Samad: Communication door is open to anyone possessing information on waste expenditure
NNA/Sunday -March 29/2020
Minister of Information, Dr. Manal Abdel Samad Najd, said on Sunday via her Twitter account: “I thank everyone who drew my attention to a consensual contract that was stopped before my appointment.”
She added: “Since I took over my duties, I requested the cancellation of contracts by mutual consent that impose financial burdens on the state or constitute a cover for waste expenditure, and include services provided therein which can be obtained through tenders or solicitation of offers.”
“The door to communicate with me is open to anyone who has information about breaches or money waste,” Abdel Samad concluded.
Govt. to Adopt Expat Return Mechanism Tuesday after Berri Warning
Naharnet//March 29, 2020
It has been confirmed that the government will approve a mechanism for bringing home expats during Tuesday’s cabinet session, after Speaker Nabih Berri threatened to suspend his ministers’ participation in Hassan Diab’s administration, media reports said. “After Berri escalated his stance against the government over its reluctance to bring back the Lebanese who want to return from abroad, the government responded by distributing invitations to ministers to hold a cabinet session Tuesday afternoon to discuss the suggestions related to the return of the Lebanese from abroad,” An-Nahar newspaper reported on Sunday. Free Patriotic Movement chief Jebran Bassil meanwhile criticized “political and populist overbidding in this file,” in an apparent jab at Berri. Urging a “safe mechanism” for returning willing expats amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bassil called for “giving the government a limited grace period for specifying this mechanism.”According to An-Nahar, discussions have started on how embassies should prepare lists of those wanting to return before Lebanon organizes flights via Middle East Airlines to capitals still allowing such evacuation flights. “Medical checkups and quick tests will also be held for the returnees and there are talks over finding them obligatory quarantine centers through renting hotels or large complexes for a period of two weeks that follows their arrival in Beirut,” An-Nahar added.
Aswad Slams Calls for Bringing Home Expats as Farce
Naharnet//March 29, 2020
MP Ziad Aswad of the Free Patriotic Movement-led Strong Lebanon bloc on Sunday slammed calls for bringing home Lebanese expats amid the coronavirus crisis as a farce. “More than four weeks into the anti-coronavirus measures, specifically abroad, and after everyone has coped with them and is taking precautions where they are inside Lebanon, the calls and threats for opening the borders cannot but have another reason that has nothing to do with the diaspora,” Aswad tweeted. “This is a farce,” the firebrand and controversial lawmaker added. Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah have in recent days led the calls for bringing home the expats, with Berri threatening to suspend his ministers’ participation in the government and Nasrallah urging a “safe, calculated and quick” repatriation.
Lebanon may extend virus curbs as death rate rises
Najia Houssari/Arab News/March 29, 2020
Health ministry figures show that coronavirus infection extends across all age groups and that Mount Lebanon area remains an infection “hotspot”
BEIRUT: Lebanon is facing at least another two weeks of lockdown to bring the coronavirus crisis under control, a leading health official told Arab News.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al-Bizri, an infectious disease specialist and member of the emergency committee on coronavirus, said that the Lebanese health system could handle the outbreak “as long as people continue to practice preventive measures seriously.”
His comments came as the number of virus fatalities in the country rose to 10 on Sunday following the deaths of two patients, both in their 80s. Both victims were suffering from chronic illnesses and died in separate Beirut hospitals.
According to the Ministry of Health, the number of confirmed virus cases climbed to 438, an increase of 26 from Saturday, while the number of people in quarantine increased to 1,074.
Health ministry figures show that coronavirus infection extends across all age groups and that Mount Lebanon area remains an infection “hotspot.”
Al-Bizri urged people to follow curfew guidelines and self-isolate where necessary.
“We have not been able yet, through epidemiological surveillance, to know where 10-15 percent of the cases caught their infection. But it is not frightening as long as we still practice preventive measures seriously,” he said. Home quarantine orders are in place around the country, while security services are also monitoring a curfew at night following government moves to curb the spread of the virus.
Meanwhile, the government is facing growing pressure to bring back Lebanese expatriates stranded abroad after Lebanon closed its air, land and sea crossings on Feb. 20 as part of measures to counter the pandemic. Most of those seeking to return are in African countries where the outbreak was limited when Lebanon shut down its airports. However, the Lebanese Ambassador to Rome, Mira Daher, said that Lebanese students in Italy “do not want to return and none of them is infected with the virus.”Students are remaining at home, but want banking procedures eased to allow their families to send money, he said.
FASTFACT
The number of virus fatalities in Lebanon rose to 10 on Sunday following the deaths of two patients, both in their 80s.
The campaign to help expatriates return has been led by Parliamentary Speaker Nabih Berri, who warned that he may suspend participation in the government and set a Tuesday deadline for Lebanese airspace to be opened to allow expatriates to fly home. Lebanon’s Prime Minister Hassan Diab has refused to reopen the airports, saying Lebanese abroad had been given a time limit to return before the airspace was closed. The government is expected to make a final decision on Tuesday regarding expatriates’ return, although it is unknown how many will want to return at their own expense. Al-Bizri told Arab News that “if these Lebanese are getting medical care where they reside, it is better that they do not come to Lebanon, but if medical care is not available to them, no one should prevent them from returning.”He ruled out a return of expatriates in under two weeks and said that any repatriation should happen in stages to avoid overtaxing the health system. The Amal Movement, headed by Berri, said that a hotel in Marawaniya, in the south of the country, would be equipped as a health isolation center for expatriates. MP Ziyad Aswad, from the Free Patriotic Movement, criticized calls for expatriates to be returned. “After more than four weeks of protection measures against coronavirus, everyone has got used to it,” he said. Security forces joined Lebanese people to salute health staff and the Red Ross on Sunday night, offering public applause for their work at Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut.
Lebanon hospitals ‘discriminating against’ undocumented workers seeking vital coronavirus testing
The New Arab/March 29/2020
Undocumented migrant workers in Lebanon are afraid for their wellbeing during the coronavirus pandemic as they are unable to access affordable healthcare. Lebanese hospitals at the centre of the fight against the novel coronavirus have turned away undocumented migrants in need of treatment, while others are charging extortionate fees for COVID-19 testing, Al-Jazeera reported. Two formeR domestic workers of Ethiopian origin told Al-Jazeera they were turned away after requesting coronavirus testing at Beirut’s Rafik Hariri University Hospital (RHUH), the main COVID-19 testing and treatment centre in the country. Both said they were turned away due to their lack of identification.
A source at RHUH said it was the hospital’s policy to turn away anyone without documents if they did not need urgent care. “We must provide the state with the name of any person who we test, so that if it is positive we can inform both the state and the person. We can’t do that without a name,” the source said.
“To be very clear, anyone who comes to us in an emergency condition and needs treatment will be given treatment, but if they are not an emergency case we can’t,” the hospital source added. Another hospital in the capital is charging undocumented workers for testing at a prohibitively high cost.
A worker at the St George Hospital told Al-Jazeera undocumented people would need to pay 750,000 Lebanese pounds (about $498) for coronavirus testing. Some private clinics have paid the test available for the cost of 150,000 Lebanese pounds (about $99).
An estimated 250,000 domestic workers from Africa and Asia live in Lebanon, most of whom earned between $150 to $250 a month before the country slid further into economic crisis last year.
The depreciation of the Lebanese currency has seen the value of these wages slashed, while some employees have taken the opportunity to either pay domestic workers late or not at all.
Under Lebanon’s notorious kafala system, domestic workers cannot leave their job without their employer’s consent.
Many work under difficult and oppresive conditions, forcing some to flee and effectively become illegal residents in the country. Tenteb, a former domestic worker who has lived in the country for 10 years, told Al-Jazeera she lost her job in March after developing coronavirus symptoms.
She immediately sought testing for the virus but was turned back by RHUH employees and left to self-medicate with antibiotics, vitamins and paracetemol.”I got very scared, because I am living in a three-room apartment with 14 people, all of them former domestic workers who either ran away from abusive employers or were laid off during Lebanon’s economic crisis,” she said, adding that none of her roommates had developed symptoms yet. Rosa, a 29-year-old Ethiopian, said: “How will Lebanon control this virus if they do this? This is more important than anything: documents, nationality, black or white. We all live here together in Lebanon. I don’t know how they think.”Healthcare should be “available and accessible to everyone without discrimination”, added Diala Haider, a Lebanon campaigner at Amnesty International. Lebanon has reported 438 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 10 fatalities.
Stimulus billions can’t buy hospitals out of shortage crisis
Associated Press/March 29/2020
Shipments of medical gloves are down 23% so far this month compared with 2019, and medical gown imports are down 64% for the same period
The billions of tax dollars headed for hospitals and states as part of the $2.2 trillion coronavirus response bill won’t fix the problem facing doctors and nurses: a critical shortage of protective gowns, gloves and masks. The problem isn’t a lack of money, experts say. It’s that there’s not enough of those supplies available to buy. What’s more, the crisis has revealed a fragmented procurement system now descending into chaos just as demand soars, The Associated Press has found. Hospitals, state governments and the Federal Emergency Management Agency are left bidding against each other and driving up prices.
For more than a week, governors have pushed back against administration assurances that supplies are available now, bitterly complaining to President Donald Trump that there’s no coordination. It’s pretty much every state for itself,” said Virginia’s secretary of finance, Aubrey Layne, who is deeply involved with his state’s effort to buy medical supplies. Masks that were priced at $2.50 a week ago are now being quoted as high as $9, he said, and suppliers make clear that there are “plenty of people out here” looking to buy, even at the high prices.
“There is a lot of opportunism going on,” Layne said.
Doctors and nurses in hot spots like New York and New Orleans are caring for feverish, wheezing COVID-19 patients without adequate masks, gloves or gowns. Can the $100 billion carved out for hospitals in the stimulus package solve that? “It is not about throwing money at this problem,” said Lisa Ellram, a professor of supply chain management at Miami University of Ohio. Just like consumers who today wander past empty shelves in the toilet paper aisle, state governments and hospitals are finding their suppliers’ warehouses are bare. The AP reported last week that imports of critical medical supplies were plummeting due to factory closures in China, where manufacturers had been required to sell all or part of their goods internally rather than export to other countries. Now that bottleneck has tightened as the pandemic sweeps through the world, shuttering potential backup factories from one country to the next. Many manufacturers have been ordered to shut down or limit production throughout Southeast Asia and Latin America, including in India and Mexico. In Malaysia, where 75 percent of the world’s medical gloves are made, AP found factories were shut down and only allowed to reopen with half staff, who are now locked in hostels at their workplaces.
Shipments of medical gloves are down 23% so far this month compared with 2019, and medical gown imports are down 64% for the same period, according to trade data compiled by Panjiva and ImportGenius, services that track imports and exports. No medical-grade N95 masks, made almost entirely in China, have arrived at U.S. ports so far this month. An Oregon Nurses Association member who spoke on condition of anonymity out of concern for her job said she’s allowed one N95 mask a day to protect against tiny particulates. “Wearing the same mask from patient to patient to patient, what are you doing? Are we taking care of them or putting them at greater risk?” she said.
A colleague has already tested positive for COVID-19, she said. Her own test was lost so she’s being retested. But she continues to work treating patients even though she has minor symptoms. For most people, the new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms, such as fever and cough that clear up in two to three weeks. For some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness, including pneumonia, and death. Six weeks ago, the Center for Global Development warned that the U.S. should get ready to rapidly scale-up medical supply manufacturing. Minnesota’s 3M Co. was already ramping up, but only in the past week have many others followed. A frenzied push to increase domestic production is too little and too late, said Prashant Yadav, a visiting fellow at the center.
Trump on Friday announced that he was using his power under the Defense Production Act to order General Motors to begin manufacturing ventilators — work that had already been underway, AP reported.
Yadav said that in addition to more supplies, states and hospitals need a better way to allocate medical supplies to the places they’re needed most.
“The real challenge is not having a clear dashboard-like function that can help match demand and supply. Just infusing more cash doesn’t create that,” he said Friday. Before the crisis, hospitals typically bought masks, gloves and other equipment through independent purchasers that bargain with suppliers to keep costs down. But those groups haven’t been able to fill orders. Soumi Saha, director of advocacy at Premier, which purchases equipment for roughly 4,000 hospitals, said 56% of hospitals didn’t receive their orders for N95 masks in February. She said traditional wholesale markets are depleted and hospitals are turning to the gray market, rife with scams and counterfeit products. In a 72-hour period last week, Premier fielded more than 130 requests from hospitals to evaluate unregulated suppliers, none of which were legitimate, Saha said.
“The short-term solutions are patchwork. We need to start implementing longer term solutions now or I don’t know how much longer the Band Aid can hold on,.” she said. The new nonprofit Project N95, launched by tech entrepreneurs, former government officials and supply chain experts, is one of many new impromptu clearinghouses for medical equipment trying to solve the crisis. Its website says it has requests from more than 2,000 institutions needing more than 100 million items of personal protection equipment in the next 30 days. The $100 billion earmarked for hospitals in the stimulus package will help quickly repurpose operating rooms into intensive care units, subsidize hospitals losing revenue due to canceled procedures, and hire additional staff to replace infected workers, said Ashley Thompson, the American Hospital Association’s senior vice president for policy.
Hospitals will also receive an additional 20 percent Medicare reimbursement for COVID-19 patients, whose providers can use up to two weeks of personal protection equipment in a single day.
Leaders of both parties promise the money will give doctors and nurses the resources they need. Lawmakers are “proud to have secured truly historic investment of hundreds of billions of dollars in hospitals, health systems, state and local governments, ensuring that they have the tools they need to combat the virus,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., on Friday. But even some in Congress are dubious. “If the administration has a list of critical supplies it is providing, what’s on that list?” said Rep, Norma Torres, D-Calif. “If they’ve conducted a nationwide needs assessment, what did they find? If they’ve met with industry to encourage new manufacturing, who did they meet with?”
