Palestine refugees in Lebanon start anti-coronavirus sterilisation drive

Palestinian refugees along with NGOs and the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) yesterday started a sterilisation campaign as part of their fight against the coronavirus in refugee camps in Lebanon.

According to Quds Press, the sterilisation campaign started in Burj Al Barajneh refugee camp and is planned to cover all 11 camps in Lebanon.

Several popular groups, Palestinian factions and Palestinian security services in the camps also took part in the campaign.

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As part of the drive, streets and alleyways were cleaned and then sterilised.

Quds Press reported organisers saying they would start checking the temperature of everyone who enters the camps as part of the campaign.

There has been widespread criticism of the Lebanese government’s efforts to tackle the spread of the virus, this was compounded this weekend when Executive Chairman of Lebanese Forces party Samir Geagea called for “measures regarding Palestinian refugee camps and the Syrian presence in Lebanon, namely, closing all camps and preventing everyone from entering or leaving them”.

Geagea called for favouritism of Lebanese people “who are supposed to stay alive, but they will, God forbid, die unless necessary measure [are] taken”.

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