Fight against the spread of COVID-19 in Lebanon: The medical crisis is waning while the political crisis is flaring up

 Overview

• To date, 737 people have been infected with COVID-19 in Lebanon, 25 of whom have died (updated to May 3, 2020). Most of the patients are in Christian and Sunni areas. In Shiite areas, where Hezbollah is dominant, a relatively low number of confirmed and suspected cases have been reported. According to reports by the Lebanese Ministry of Health, the infection rate is relatively low and the handling of the virus is under control. Even in the Palestinian refugee camps, which have a high potential for the spread of the virus, no significant outbreak has been reported to date (so far, four cases have been reported in the Al-Jalil refugee camp near Baalbek).
• Hezbollah has implemented its own large-scale program to curb the spread of COVID-19 among the Shiite population. To implement the program, the organization has allocated many resources: medical teams, volunteers, diagnostic centers, quarantine facilities, hospital beds, and ambulances. In practice, only 96 cases have reportedly been identified in Shiite population areas, including 23 Hezbollah operatives who came from Syria and Iran. Most of the patients are residents of the southern (Shiite) suburb of Beirut.
• As part of the fight against COVID-19, Hezbollah has instructed residents to maintain social distancing rules, including during the month of Ramadan. Prayers in mosques have been banned and alternatives to mass events are being held during the month. The war on COVID-19 was accompanied by widely reported shows of strength among the Shiite population, mainly in southern Lebanon, designed to demonstrate Hezbollah’s capabilities and increase its prestige. These shows of strength included openly praising the scope of the activity and resources allocated by Hezbollah to the fight against COVID-19 for the so-called Resistance Society (i.e., the mini-state established by Hezbollah among the Shiite population).

Thus, so far, there has been no significant spread or uncontrolled outbreak of COVID-19 in Lebanon, not even in the Palestinian refugee camps, where the potential for an outbreak is high. As a result, the preoccupation with the virus is gradually waning, and the wave of protest has returned to the forefront, after a two-month respite. This wave of protest has been fueled by the economic crisis that has affected Lebanon over the past year, which was further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis.

• The center of the protests has moved (for the time being?) from Beirut to the (Sunni) city of Tripoli in the north. This is Lebanon’s second-largest city, where a significant portion of the population lives below the poverty line, even before the COVID-19 crisis. On the night of April 27-28, 2020, demonstrations were held in Tripoli and have since spread to other cities. The demonstrators, protesting against the deteriorating economy and poor standard of living, set fire to military vehicles, smashed bank façades and set fire to at least one bank. The army responded with live fire, killing one of the demonstrators. Hezbollah, which is waging a prolonged campaign against the banking system, seized the opportunity to criticize the Lebanese Central Bank and its governor, Riad Salamé^[1]. The Lebanese Banking Association has announced the closure of the banks in Tripoli until order is restored. The COVID-19 crisis is waning (at least temporarily), and the political crisis affecting Lebanon has flared up.

The spread of COVID-19 in Lebanon

To date, there have been 737 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Lebanon. A total of 25 patients have died and 200 have recovered (updated to May 3, 2020). Of the 512 patients, 43 are in serious condition (Lebanese Ministry of Health website; Lebanese Ministry of Information website, May 3, 2020).

• So far, 39,238 COVID-19 tests have been performed in Lebanon. A total of 1,477 suspected cases have been quarantined. The main areas in Lebanon where the virus has spread are the districts of Matn (147 cases), Beirut (112), and Keserwan (85). No cases have been reported in the districts of Western Bekaa, Rachaiya, and Hasbaya (Lebanese Ministry of Health website; Lebanese Ministry of Information website, May 3, 2020). It is clearly evident that in a predominantly Shiite population, where Hezbollah is dominant, a relatively low number of confirmed and suspected cases have been reported (i.e., southern Lebanon, the Bekaa Valley, and the southern suburb of Beirut).

• The main steps taken by the Lebanese government to curb the spread of the virus are stopping flights to affected areas around the world as of February 22, 2020; closing all the country’s educational institutions as of February 29; closing cafés, restaurants, sports clubs and tourist sites as of March 11; social distancing measures as of March 15 and limiting business hours as of March 26 (Lebanese Ministry of Health website, April 30, 2020). Following these steps, COVID-19 is spreading at a relatively low rate in Lebanon, which does not appear to be challenging the capabilities of the Lebanese healthcare system.

Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19

• Hezbollah has been prepared with its own large-sale program to curb the spread of COVID-19 in areas where most of the population is Shiite^[3]. To that end, Hezbollah has allocated very extensive manpower and resources: 4,500 doctors, specialists and nurses; 5,000 volunteers, including about 1,300 who disinfect public places and homes; 32 diagnostic centers, each of which can accept 150 suspected cases per day; 450 beds in four hospitals; 15 buildings to be used for quarantine; and 40 ambulances, whereas in the case of an outbreak, it will be possible to allocate up to 300 ambulances for transferring confirmed as well as suspected patients (Janoubia, April 21, 2020).

In March-April 2020, only a total of 96 patients were detected in the Shiite governorates (out of about 6,000 who are suspected of being infected). Those patients included 23 Hezbollah operatives who arrived from Syria and Iran; 55 residents of Beirut’s southern suburb (Baabda district) and 18 residents living in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa Valley (Janoubia, April 21, 2020).

• Following are several characteristics of Hezbollah’s fight against COVID-19 in April 2020:
  • Maintaining social distancing among the entire Shiite population, including calling on them to pray at home during Ramadan in order to avoid gathering; organizing a “caravan of receiving Ramadan” as a substitute for the crowded events taking place every year at the beginning of the month; adapting the custom of Hakawati (storyteller) and moving it to ZOOM; and training the Imam al-Mahdi Scouts through various apps (Rassed network’s Facebook page, April 27, 2020).
  • Increasing the number of tests and starting to perform random tests among the population, even on those who were asymptomatic (Rassed network’s Facebook page, April 28-29, 2020).
  • Shows of strength and exercises of diagnosing patients and transferring them to isolation: On April 14, 2020, Hezbollah’s Islamic Health Organization carried out a show of strength in Tyre, which included a formation of ambulances and patrol and rescue vehicles for an organized visit of journalists in the area (Ya Sour, April 14, 2020; Janoubia, April 21, 2020). Several exercises were carried out In the Islamic Health Organization centers in southern Lebanon for diagnosing patients and safely transferring them to isolation (Rassed network’s Facebook page, April 27, 2020).

    
Islamic Health Organization’s show of strength in Tyre
(Ya Sour, April 14, 2020)

A new trend, so far evident in social media, is Hezbollah’s relinquishing the façade of adhering to the Lebanese state and openly boasting of the sectarian activity and the resources allocated by Hezbollah to cope with COVID-19 among the “Resistance Society” only (i.e., the mini-state established by Hezbollah in Shiite areas).

• Thus, for example, Ali Shueib, correspondent for Hezbollah’s Al-Manar Channel, tweeted a photo from the Islamic Health Organization’s show of strength in Tyre, adding the caption: “The civil defense in the #Islamic_Health_Organization in the south places all its efforts and resources at the disposal of the people of resistance” [i.e., the Shiite population] (Ali Shueib’s Twitter account, April 14, 2020). Here is yet another example: The Islamic Health Organization’s medical center in Al-Ghaziya issued a video entitled “The Al-Ghaziya medical center at the service of the noblest people” (Rassed network’s Facebook page, April 24, 2020). Note: “The noblest people” is a term coined by Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in his “Victory Rally” speech in September 2006, referring to Hezbollah supporters.

Coping with COVID-19 in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon^[4]

On April 24, 2020, four COVID-19 patients were detected in the Al-Jalil refugee camp near Baalbek. Subsequently, enhanced disinfection was carried out at the entrances to the camp and UNRWA prepared a school in the camp to be used as an isolation center for them and for their families (DW, April 24, 2020; Lebanon Debate website, April 25, 2020). Apart from that, there were no other reports on the outbreak of COVID-19 in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon.

• Following the detection of the patients in the Al-Jalil refugee camp, preparations were made in additional refugee camps in Lebanon for more COVID-19 tests. This included 146 tests in the Al-Jalil camp, 30 tests in the Burj al-Barajneh camp, and 100 tests in the Ein al-Hilweh camp (Lebanon Debate website, April 25, 2020; Al-Quds News Agency, April 29, 2020; IMLebanon website, April 29, 2020). At the same time, routine measures of coping with COVID-19 continue, such as taking temperatures at the entrance to the camps and disinfection campaigns (Shababeek, April 24, 2020; the Al-Buss camp local news website, April 30, 2020).

^[1] Hezbollah has a score to settle with the Lebanese banking system. Hassan Nasrallah claimed that the banking system had succumbed to US pressures and froze bank accounts of Hezbollah-affiliated institutions and individuals. See the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from July 10, 2016, “Nasrallah’s Speech: Hezbollah’s Budget Is Entirely Funded by Iran, Including Weapons and Operatives’ Salaries Analysis of Significance and Implications.” ↑
^[2] For details on the Lebanese morbidity data, updated to March 30, 2020, see the ITIC’s Information Bulletin from April 2020, “Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19: A test case of the conduct of the mini-state established by Hezbollah in Lebanon” ↑
^[3] See the ITIC's Information Bulletin from April 2020, “Hezbollah’s coping with COVID-19: A test case of the conduct of the mini-state established by Hezbollah in Lebanon” ↑
^[4] For further details, see the ITIC's Information Bulletin from April 2020, “The fight against the spread of COVID-19 in the Palestinian refugee camps in Lebanon” ↑

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