BEIRUT, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Lebanon deployed on Sunday security forces all over the country to prevent people from leaving their houses as the number of coronavirus cases in the country has surged to 230, the National News Agency (NNA) reported.
Citizens are not allowed to use any kind of public transport or gather in public or private areas, or they will face legal prosecution involving up to one-year imprisonment, NNA said.
In the Beqaa region, helicopters were called in to control people's movement with loudspeakers urging then to stay home.
In his national address delivered a day earlier, Prime Minister Hassan Diab pressed for commitment to the anti-coronavirus instructions.
"I urge all the Lebanese to stop going out as the government cannot alone face the pandemic. This is an individual and societal responsibility," Diab said.
