Health Ministry Says Delta Variant Hasn't Reached Lebanon

The highly contagious Delta variant of the coronavirus has become widespread in most countries but it has not yet reached Lebanon, the caretaker health minister’s advisor, Mohammed Haidar, said on Sunday.

“Its presence in more than 100 nations might lead to its arrival in Lebanon through expats,” Haidar warned.

Reassuring that “there are several measures at the airport to protect from this variant, such as PCR tests for all expats and quarantine in hotels,” Haidar noted that this variant “does not affect the taste and smell senses.”

“The greatest danger is its very rapid transmission,” the advisor added.

He also pointed out that “Lebanon presence on the whitelist does not mean that the coronavirus pandemic has ceased to exist” but rather means that “we have brought most cases under control and that there are no infection hotbeds.”