The closure is two weeks: the final confrontation with the virus

On the morning of the fourteenth of this year, the country will enter its complete isolation after the decision of the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to close the “complete and complete” shutdown for two full weeks, based on the recommendation of the Supreme Defense Council. . This is not the first time that the country has been closed, but it is the most difficult at present, since the number of daily infections with the Coronavirus crosses the “red line”, according to the resigned Prime Minister Hassan Diab. This occurs at a time when the capacity of the hospital sector has also reached its red line, and in the face of the accumulation of negative indicators from the percentage of occupancy of intensive care beds to the ratios of positive tests on the mortality rate.

In the first part, “hope in God” has become the theme of ensuring an empty bed in intensive care rooms, after the occupancy rate reached 94% yesterday, according to the General Director of the Government Hospital of Beirut, Firas Al-Abyad, who predicts the coming disaster with the approach of taking the choice of differentiation between who will occupy this or that bed. With regard to positive test rates, which reached 14%, Lebanon is at the forefront of countries that today have no job but to “move” the number of people infected with a virus that spreads without deterrence. As for the last and most dangerous indicator, which is related to mortality rates, it is that these are no longer limited to the elderly who suffer from chronic diseases, but also include the healthy young population. In addition, this indicator today exceeds the average of ten injuries per day, which is a rate close to danger. In a simple calculation, this means that the number of deaths per month will reach around 300 victims … and until the vaccine is available, this will be a “high price”, according to Al-Abyadh.
Thus, closure became the last available opportunity and the last opportunity for authority. This time, there are only two possibilities: either this decision contributes to reducing the number of infections that allow the health sector to breathe, or it will actually be a high price, if it is in terms of increasing the severity of the economic-financial crisis-alive or in terms of losing the showdown with the Corona virus. These are two options that the authority will then be asked about … even if the decisions made by the latter during that period were not promising. It is possible to return here to the closure decisions, which lasted six weeks and affected certain cities and towns. Despite the importance of this step, the authority in question – here the Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities and later the Municipalities – is blamed for not following up on the decision, and this was evidenced in the lack of serious implementation of the decisions if it was related to the closure of crowded shops or even the prevention of meetings and events. It may be enough to show here that a northern town has extended its shutdown for four consecutive weeks due to the continued high casualties there, which means that the authority was content to be the writer of “firmans” without following it on the ground. This is a “calculated” mistake, especially in light of people who circumvent preventive measures and are reckless and scoff at other times with the Coronavirus. This is what concerned people know, led by Health Minister Hamad Hassan, who never tires of repeating this issue.
Another challenge is the state’s ability to increase the preparedness of the medical sector. The question here is: Will it be possible to improve the capacities of government hospitals in a period of two weeks, which in the previous nine months they have not achieved? Will he have the authority to impose the “emergency rule” on private hospitals and force them to increase the “number of confrontation beds,” according to former MP Dr. Ismail Sukkariyah? How will you deal with danger from outside, especially with the start of a second wave of the virus? How will you handle meetings and events and store openings, especially in light of resentment over today’s closing decision?

If the kill counters remain unchanged, we could soon register 300 kills per month.

The extent to which authority responds to this reality determines the path of closure, whether it will survive or fall. Here, the reality is more difficult, especially without other options available.
As for going back to the closure decision, Diab noted that the specified period remains dependent on people’s commitment, otherwise “we may have to extend it.” At present, the complete closure is set at two weeks, with the exception of vital sectors, among which stand out “mills and ovens and everything related to the storage and manufacture of food and agricultural products, banks, army, security forces , Ministry of Health, hospitals, clinics, National Social Security Fund, Cooperative of State Employees, mutual funds and everything. It is related to hospitalization papers and what is also related to industry, import, export, transport of goods and courts (…) ». The decision also included a curfew from 5 p.m. to 5 a.m. During the day, the Ministry of the Interior and Municipalities promulgated the “singular and permissible” decision for motorized vehicles to circulate, so that it is like this: “Monday, Wednesday and Friday for single-digit cars, and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday for cars with authorized numbers, and curfews are strictly prohibited on Sundays ”. .
In addition, the Supreme Defense Council extended the general mobilization in the country until December 31.
On the impact of the closure decision, Corona’s counter continues to rise, since yesterday it registered 1,552 wounded, bringing the total wounded to 43,270. Regarding the death count, 17 victims were registered, which is one of the most dangerous figures recorded, bringing the total number of deaths to 749. However, these figures are not indicative of excessive negativity at the end of the day, with hospitalizations that reach 845, including 310 intensive care injuries and 138 Connected to respirators.

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