Some Brital, Hermel Schools Close over Coronavirus Fears

A large number of residents in the Baalbek town of Brital refrained from sending their children to schools on Monday as a precautionary measure, state-run National News Agency reported.

The residents took the precautionary move “because 10 of the town’s residents were on an Iranian plane” that landed in Beirut, NNA said.

“They were on pilgrimage trips to the cities of Qom and Mashhad,” the agency added.

The parents’ move “prompted some schools to inform students that classes will be suspended for the next three days,” NNA said.

The administration of the Hermel state-run intermediate school meanwhile announced that classes were suspended on Monday as a precautionary measure "after it was confirmed that relatives of some students were on the plane that arrived from Iran on February 20."

"The school will resume classes on Tuesday after following up on the situations of the aforementioned students," it added.