Hage Chahine

This weekly update aims to inform our readers of the legal and regulatory measures adopted by the Lebanese authorities to mitigate the impact of the recent Covid-19 outbreak in Lebanon.

 

Here is the list of measures taken between April 27 and May 4, 2020:

1. Ministry of Tourism. - Circular of May 3rd, 2020: The Ministry of Tourism issued health and professional safety guidelines for restaurants.

These guidelines provide for:

  • The designation of a Point of Contact tasked with gathering the contact details of all employees.
  • The execution of systematic temperature checks when a person enters a restaurant.
  • The upholding of Social distancing rules such as keeping a distance of 1.5 meters between customers, operating at 30% capacity and prohibiting customers from waiting at the bar or in waiting areas.
  • The implementation of strict cleaning and sterilization measures.
  • The need to raise awareness amongst employees on the spread of Covid-19 and the implementation of strict hygiene and social distancing measures between employees.
  • The implementation of strict hygiene measures for food preparation and food delivery.

2. Ministry of Interior. – Memorandum n˚48/A.M./2020: On May 2nd, 2020, the Ministry of the Interior issued a Memorandum that allows the following businesses to reopen:
  • Restaurants are allowed to reopen from 5 am to 9 pm every day of the week.
  • Barber shops are allowed to reopen from 8 am to 5 pm every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday.
  • Beauty salons are allowed to to reopen from 8 am to 5 pm every Thursday, Fridayand Saturday.
  • Car dealerships are allowed to reopen from 8 am to 5 pm every day of the week.


3. Ministry of Justice. – Circular of May 1st, 2020: The Ministry of Justice extended the suspension of all Court hearings and the restriction of the activiy of Court regsitries to May 11, 2020. The Circular excludes sentencing hearings, release hearings before criminal Courts and urgent matters from the scope of the suspension.

For any additional information about the legal issues raised by Covid-19, please do not hesitate tocontact our Firm.