A five-star hotel in Beirut that once hosted royalty and survived the civil war has been forced to close over Lebanon's economic crisis and coronavirus lockdown, its manager said Saturday.

The Health Ministry said in a statement on Saturday that four new cases of coronavirus were recorded raising the tally to 672.

Kataeb chief Sami Gemayel in televised remarks on Saturday blamed the “ruling authority, Banque du Liban and Hizbullah” party for the economic and financial crises in Lebanon.

Police are investigating a stabbing incident in the southern city of Sidon that began as a personal dispute and ended with several injured.

Several hundred people protested in Lebanon late on Friday despite the country's coronavirus lockdown, marking six months since mass rallies broke out over government corruption and economic hardship.

Protestors in the northern city of Tripoli threw rocks at security forces, who responded with teargas to disperse a group attempting to approach a parliamentarian's house, an AFP reporter said.

Al-Mustaqbal Movement leader ex-PM Saad Hariri returned Friday to Beirut after spending several months abroad.

The Health Ministry released its daily statement on the number of coronavirus cases on Friday reporting five new cases raising the tally to 668.

The US Ambassador to Lebanon Dorothy Shea affirmed in an interview with LBCI TV station that the Lebanese Armed Forces is a basic pillar of Washington's assistance, pointing out that Washington is trying to transfer some of its assistance programs to ensure that it responds to the needs on the ground.

In response to a question on whether Washington’s assistance to the Lebanese army is linked to weaken Hizbullah in Lebanon, Ambassador Shea said: “Our relationship with the Lebanese government is complex and multifaceted. There is a lot of concern in Washington about the way this government was formed and whether it would really assert its independence as a technocratic government, and therefore, it has taken my government a bit of a "wait and see" approach. They are assessing the performance of this government, not only based on words, but also on their actions.

The Lebanese Army dispersed a group of protesters -defying the government’s lockdown over coronavirus- in the northern city of Tripoli who had taken to the streets late on Thursday in protest at the deteriorating living conditions in the country.

Interior Minister Mohammed Fahmi said the precautions taken to counter the spread of the novel coronavirus outbreak must not be alleviated until the virus is totally controlled, al-Joumhouria daily reported on Friday.