Lebanon announces two-week lockdown

istock/Leonid Andronov

Lebanon has declared a national state of emergency amidst concerns over COVID-19.

The country's government announced on Sunday evening that Beirut's International Airport will shut on Wednesday, March 18, until Sunday, March 29. 

Residents have been asked to remain at home for two weeks to help contain the spread of the virus. 

So far, 99 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the Levantine country, with three deaths reported thus far. 

More from International

  • Strong earthquake strikes central Peru

    An earthquake of magnitude 6.7 hit central Peru on Thursday, the United States Geological Survey said, although authorities reported no immediate casualties or damage.

  • Overloaded boat capsizes in Nigeria, at least 40 bodies recovered

    At least 40 bodies, mostly of children, have been recovered after an overloaded boat capsized in Nigeria's northwest Sokoto state, local officials and residents said on Thursday.

  • Bangladesh elects ruling party veteran Alamgir as president

    Bangladeshi lawmakers elected veteran Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) leader Mirza Fakhrul Islam Alamgir as the country's new president on Thursday, making the longtime opposition figure the head of state after his party came to power in a major political transition.

  • Russian strikes kill 16 in Ukraine's Kyiv

    Russian strikes have killed 16 people and injured more than 40 in Kyiv and the surrounding region on Thursday as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said a failure by Ukraine's allies to replenish its stock of air defence missiles was costing lives.

  • Prince Harry and Meghan to move back to Britain

    Prince Harry and his wife Meghan plan to move back to Britain this month, six years after they stepped down from their royal duties and relocated to the US, a source close to the couple said.