The Lebanese government will distribute aid to citizens who have become out of work due to the lockdown over the coronavirus crisis, Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad announced on Thursday after a Cabinet session.

“PM (Hassan) Diab spoke of the need to open a bank account for social aid donations aimed at helping citizens who have become out of work, and in this regard he announced that there are preparations to distribute food aid in the various regions, through the High Relief Council, municipalities or local donators,” Abdul Samad said.

Health Minister Hamad Hasan on Thursday asked Cabinet to isolate the Jbeil and Keserwan regions over a rise in coronavirus cases there and said his request may later include Baabda and Northern Metn should the need arise, TV networks said.

Hasan himself confirmed to reporters that he called for isolating “two regions” but noted that the government did not agree to his request.

Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Thursday released its daily report on the COVID-19 saying the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases has reached 149.

UN chief Antonio Guterres conveyed solidarity with Lebanon during the “difficult” circumstances the world and the Midetteranean country are going through, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

The government held a regular meeting at Baabda Palace to discuss eleven items on its agenda mainly tackling a draft law on capital control, the electricity file and economic and financial issues, the National News Agency reported on Thursday.

Chairman of Lebanon’s national carrier Mohammed Hout said on Thursday that MEA airlines is capable of overcoming the crisis after Lebanon’s airport was ordered closed for two weeks over coronavirus fears.

Former Prime Minister Saad Hariri said that WHO Director General has described coronavirus as an “enemy against humanity,” which makes it crucial that we all join efforts to stop its spread.

Salim Sfeir, the head of the Association of Banks in Lebanon, has said that a default on the country’s Eurobond debt “could have been avoided.”

In an interview with the Financial Times published Wednesday, Sfeir criticized the government, saying the default was “handled in a non-professional manner.”

Cellphone shops will be closed in Lebanon and the validity of prepaid lines will be extended by a month due to the coronavirus crisis, the telecom minister said on Wednesday.

“An additional one-month grace period will be given to the subscribers of the Alfa and touch firms for paying their bills,” Talal Hawat told al-Jadeed TV.

Drivers of passenger vans on Wednesday blocked the Tripoli-Beirut highway for a second day after the government barred them from operating as part of a two-week coronavirus lockdown.

The National News Agency said the drivers blocked the road in the Palma area twice on Wednesday, after having blocked it on Tuesday.