Prime Minister Hassan Diab on Tuesday announced that the government will carry on with “the biggest ever operation to evacuate Lebanese citizens,” as more planes arrived from several European countries amid the global coronavirus crisis.
“Despite the bleak picture, what’s happening is very important, seeing as the Lebanese are requesting to return because their confidence in their state has been restored,” Diab added during a Cabinet session.
Separately, the PM announced that a process to provide financial aid to the neediest families will be launched on Wednesday following the finalization of the lists.
Lebanon has so far confirmed 548 coronavirus cases, among them 19 deaths and at least 60 recoveries, while no infections have been recorded among the hundreds of expats who returned to Lebanon over past days.
The expats are undergoing PCR tests at Beirut’s airport before heading to quarantine hotels in the capital.