The Higher Defense Council has announced the extension of the general mobilization for a period of six months (until the end of September) and the total shutdown of all sectors during holidays for three days given the increasing numbers of COVID-19 infections and deaths.

The Council has also made it imperative for the Lebanese people to wear masks, and asked the security apparatuses to take the necessary measures against violators.

But what kind of general mobilization are we actually talking about? The country’s sectors are open and the Lebanese are standing in lines outside supermarkets and banks in the total absence of censorship.

The concerned officials are in a growing state of confusion and denial; after allowing the owners of cafes and restaurants to open until 9:00 p.m. in order to revive the tourist and economic situation, the officials are ordering them now to shut down their businesses during holidays.

“The important thing is not to take decisions, but rather to implement them,” MP Assem Araji, head of the parliamentary health committee told Sawt Beirut International (SBI) reporter Ghida Jbeili.

“Had the decisions been implemented effectively, the COVID-19 problem would have been less intense,” Araji said, noting that “they were closing the country and then they were making exceptions and then they were opening a specific sector.”

“The citizens’ failure to abide by precautionary measures will lead to a higher number of COVID-19 infections.”

At the end, it was a protocol meeting talking about healthcare yet nothing is enforced on the ground. We see nothing but a growing frustration, a failure to manage the health crisis and throwing responsibilities on one another.

“Let them provide the people with food and water and then they may close the country,” one citizen said. “How can we provide milk for our children? The officials do not care about the citizen’s condition, because everything is provided for them,” another one said.

So what’s the purpose of extending the mobilization? Can we know its positive and negative aspects? We’ve seen that a total lockdown did not pay off and today, they’re talking about a general mobilization!