COVID-19 Pandemic in Lebanon: One Year Later, What Have We Learnt?

Jad Koweyes; Tamara Salloum; Siwar Haidar; Georgi Merhi; Sima Tokajian

doi:10.1128/mSystems.00351-21

COVID-19 Pandemic in Lebanon: One Year Later, What Have We Learnt?

mSystems. 2021 Apr 20;6(2):e00351-21. doi: 10.1128/mSystems.00351-21.

Authors

Jad Koweyes¹, Tamara Salloum¹, Siwar Haidar¹, Georgi Merhi¹, Sima Tokajian²

Affiliations

¹ Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon.
² Department of Natural Sciences, School of Arts and Sciences, Lebanese American University, Byblos, Lebanon stokajian@lau.edu.lb.

Abstract

Lebanon is witnessing an unprecedented crisis with the rapid spread of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), financial meltdown, economic collapse, and the Beirut Port explosion. The first wave began in February 2020, following which the country experienced several episodes and peaks while alternating between lockdowns and phased liftings. One year of the pandemic revealed that effective mitigation could not be separated from the collapse of the ongoing economic, political, and health sectors. Scaling up vaccination, preparedness, and response capacities is essential to control community transmission. The World Health Organization (WHO), National Council for Scientific Research-Lebanon (CNRS-L), nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and humanitarian responses proved to be the safety net for the country during the current pandemic.

Keywords: COVID-19; Lebanon; SARS-CoV-2; epidemiology; pandemic; public health.