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 May 4 and May 11, 2020:

1. Ministry of Interior. – Memorandum n˚50/am/2020: On May 10, 2020, the Ministry of the Interior issued a Memorandum that prohibits all circulation between the hours of 7 pm. and 5 am. The Memorandum also allowed the circulation of all vehicles on Sunday and according to the odd/even system on the other days of the week. Finally, the Memorandum authorized the following businesses to reopen:

• Construction sites and concrete mixer operators are allowed to operate from 7 am to 5 pm every day of the week except on Sundays and during holidays.
• Mechanical Inspection is allowed to operate from 7 am to 5 pm every day of the week in accordance with the odd/even system.
• Restaurants and coffeeshops are allowed to reopen from 5 am to 9 pm every day of the week.
• Brokerage firms and stockmarkets are allowed to reopen for 24 hours.
• Shopping centers that exceed 100 m2 are allowed to reopen from 8 am to 5 pm every Thursday, Friday and Saturday. However, Shopping Malls are to remain closed.

2. Ministry of Justice. – Circular of May 9, 2020: The Ministry of Justice extended the suspension of all Court hearings and the restriction of the activiy of Court regsitries to May 24, 2020. The Circular excludes sentencing hearings, release hearings before criminal Courts and urgent matters from the scope of the suspension.

3. Ministry of Education. - Decision of May 8, 2020: The Ministry of Education announced that:

• Classes shall resume in private and public universities, technical and vocational programs and Grades 12 to 9 on May 28, 2020.
• Classes in kindergardens, first, second and third grade shall remain suspended.
• Classes in all other grades shall resume on June 11, 2020.
• Baccalaureate examinations shall be administered in August and September with subjects to be divided into compulsory and optional subjects.
• Brevet exams are cancelled, and 9th Grade students will receive official certificates by the government. However, students are still expected to attend school and pass their class exams.

4. Ministry of Interior. – Memorandum n˚6624: On May 5, 2020, the Ministry of the Interior issued a Memorandum that allows the performance of prayer in Mosques on Fridays and mass in Churches on Sundays at 30% capacity.

5. Ministry of Labor.- Circular of May 6, 2020: The Ministry of Labor issued health and professional safety guidelines for barbershops and beauty salons.

These guidelines provide for:

• The designation of a Point of Contact tasked with gathering the contact details of all employees.
• The execution of systematic health checks when a person enters the premises.
• The upholding of Social distancing measures such as keeping a distance of 1.5 meters between customers and reducing the number of employees that are present at the same time.
• 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 sterilization of the POS machine after each use.

6. Ministry of Labor.- Circular of May 5, 2020: The Ministry of Labor issued health and professional safety guidelines for businesses that have reopened.

These guidelines provide for:

• The designation of a Point of Contact tasked with gathering the contact details of all employees.
• The execution of systematic health checks when a person enters the premises.
• The upholding of Social distancing measures such as keeping a distance of 1.5 meters between customers and reducing the number of employees that are present at the same time.
• 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.

7. Council of Ministers. – Decision of May 5, 2020: The Council of Ministers extended the public mobilization measures to May 24, 2020.

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