A two-week partial lockdown and nighttime curfew kicked off Friday in Lebanon after coronavirus cases increased sharply following an explosion in Beirut that killed and injured thousands of people.

Beirut is still bidding farewell to the victims of the port explosion that shook the city two weeks ago, the last of which was firefighter Joe Bou Saab and 15-year-old Elias El-Khoury, Asharq el-Awsat newspaper reported Friday.

Bou Saab was laid to rest Friday, while Khoury succumbed to his wounds on Thursday.

Hizbullah's emphatic defence of the political status quo in Lebanon has exposed it since the deadly Beirut blast to levels of public contempt and anger it was once shielded from.

Health Minister Hamad Hassan is set to lead a crisis cell meeting on coronavirus on Friday, after remarks that Lebanon made an agreement with the World Health Organization to reserve Lebanon’s share of a possible Russian COVID-19 vaccine.

As part of efforts to reach an agreement on a new government, Speaker Nabih Berri will likely hold talks with head of Strong Lebanon parliamentary bloc MP Jebran Bassil in Ain el-Tineh, Saudi Asharq el-Awsat newspaper reported on Friday.

Still reeling from a deadly port blast that ravaged their Beirut homes and businesses, Lebanese wearily braced themselves for a new coronavirus lockdown Friday.

One person was killed and three others were injured as a dispute erupted into gunfire in the southern town of Loubieh, the National News Agency said.

The deceased person succumbed to his wounds in hospital, as security forces sought to contain the situation in cooperation with the area’s dignitaries, NNA said.

Lebanon recorded 605 new coronavirus cases and four deaths over the past 24 hours, the Health Ministry said on Thursday evening.

In its daily statement, the Ministry said 597 of the cases were recorded among residents and eight among individuals coming from abroad.

The Beirut eastern suburb of Nabaa, the coastal Khalde area south of Beirut and the Bekaa town of Saadnayel have witnessed tensions following separate incidents over the past hours.

The tensions in Nabaa erupted after the torching of a banner related to the Shiite religious occasion of Ashoura and a picture of Lebanese Forces leader Samir Geagea, reports said.

Lebanon on Thursday received Iraqi, Omani and Ukrainian aid as part of the relief efforts aimed at addressing the repercussions of the devastating Beirut port blast.

The Lebanese Army said a Ukrainian plane carrying medical aid landed at Beirut airport as 31 tankers carrying diesel and dispatched by Iraq entered the country via the al-Masnaa border crossing.