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Author: LS

Khaled Al Mishri calls on the Presidential Council to provide in-kind support to some municipalities

President of the High Council of State, Khaled Al Mishri has called on the Presidential Council’s head, Fayez Al-Sarraj to provide municipalities that are not under their control with in-kind support rather than monetary assistance. In a letter addressed to Al-Sarraj on Wednesday, Al Mishri demanded that the criteria for distributing coronavirus allocations to be disclosed.

According to Al Mishri, some factors need to be taken into account, such as municipalities with significant population displacements, in addition to cities located in border areas.

It should be noted that LYD 75 million emergency budget was distributed to a total of 119 municipalities, local administrations according to population density.


Minister of Health: “the situation goes beyond our capabilities, all ministries and sectors must collaborate.”

During a meeting held yesterday, the Minister of Health, Ahmed Ben Omar discussed with Finance Minister, Faraj Boumtari and Minister of Economy, Ali Al Issawi, the much-needed financial measures to face the coronavirus pandemic in Libya.

The Ministry of Health stated on Facebook that the meeting dealt with the economic impact of coronavirus and the efforts of the Finance and Economy Ministries to mitigate the situation.

Minister of Health, Ahmed bin Omar stressed that the crisis would have negative consequences at the national and individual levels.

He also stressed that the situation goes beyond the capabilities of the Ministry of Health and requires the collaboration of all ministries and sectors.

Libya’s Anti-Coronavirus Committee discusses mechanisms to support municipalities

Yesterday, the Anti-Coronavirus Committee met and discussed the mechanism by which the LYD 75 million allocated by the internationally recognized Libyan government can be used in order to support the municipalities in four main areas.

The Committee discussed the provision of personal protection and infection control in quarantine and isolation areas and centres in accordance with the recommendations of the National Centre for Disease Control. In addition, it discussed the provision of the requirements of medical and medical assistants at detection, quarantine and health isolation centres.

The provision of sterilizers and other supplies in accordance with the recommendations of the National Centre for Disease Control as well as the training needs were also considered.

The meeting highlighted the levels of preparedness of isolation and quarantine rooms according to a briefing by the Director of Project Management at the Health Ministry.

The mechanism for the provision of medicines, medical equipment and available supplies, in accordance with a briefing by the Director of the Health Ministry’s Pharmacy Department, was also discussed.

Libya’s Ani-Coronavirus High Committee reviews banning importing goods

The Tripoli government reported yesterday a package of further measures by its Ani-Coronavirus High Committee.

These included the establishment of controls and a mechanism to ban the entry of goods into the country other than medical goods and foodstuffs, in order to slow the spread of the virus in the country after registering 10 confirmed cases.

Health Ministry: The Arrival of Personal Protection Equipment

The Tripoli Health Ministry announced that a Boeing 747 cargo plane arrived in Misrata from Belgium loaded with a shipment of personal protection equipment for health practitioners working in isolation, quarantine areas.

The shipment consisted of various specialist protective overalls, including for ICU’s, face shields, disposable and reusable face masks and PVC goggles, the Health Ministry reported.

Tripoli port: 100 containers loaded with medical supplies

 100 containers loaded with medical supplies were released from Tripoli port yesterday after sitting in docks for weeks as a result of bureaucratic red tape.

They included vital sanitizers and disinfectants. They were stored in the state Medical Supply Organization (MSO) warehouses.

The medical supplies will be distributed to health facilities and municipalities in order to raise the degree of anti-Coronavirus readiness, the Tripoli Health Ministry reported.

Libya’s Presidential Council allocates a budget to face Covid-19

In a statement issued yesterday, Libya’s Presidential Council declared the allocation of LYD 75 million to municipalities across Libya.

The amounts from the ‘‘Emergencies Budget’’ came in implementation of what was agreed at the government’s 17 March meeting with Municipality mayors to counter the spread of the pandemic.

It also emphasized that the concerned parties must commit to cash disbursement within the amount allocated so they can provide all personal protection equipment, as well as the requirements of medical and paramedical personnel in quarantine centres.

The Libyan National Center for Disease Control: “No COVID-19 recoveries in Libya yet”

The media committee of the Libyan National Center for Disease Control has denied that there has been a recovered Coronavirus case in Libya, dismissing the rumors circulating on social media.

The head of the media committee Mohammed Al-Jazwi told reporters on Wednesday that the application that reported the recovered case isn’t related to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Al-Jazwi said WHO doesn’t report on Coronavirus cases without prior contact with the National Center for Disease Control, adding that the latest samples taken from the patients on Tuesday tested positive, saying the recovered cases should test negative for Coronavirus.

He also said that the center is willing to take legal action against the owners of the pages that publish fake news about Coronavirus cases in Libya, or the pages or journalists as well as medics who publish the names of the people who tested positive for the virus.

Two new cases were announced Tuesday by the National Center for Disease Control, totalling the number to 10 as tens others are being tested on a daily basis to try and contain the outbreak of Coronavirus.

NOC Chairman calls for reopening oil fields at the earliest

The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation (NOC), Mustafa Sanalla, called for reopening oil fields and resuming exports as soon as possible, noting that this measure will encourage foreign companies to come to Libya in the future.

Sanalla added that he had approved a budget of $1.3 million to support some of the municipalities with projects for the NOC as an aid to purchase devices and equipment to tackle the Coronavirus outbreak, including the city of Tobruk, Ubari and Murzuq, in addition to Al-Wahat and Khaleej Sirte.

The Chairman of the National Oil Corporation said that the NOC also approved an amount of $2 million for the Arabian Gulf Company to purchase basic equipment to complete its work.

He also called on government authorities to take measures to support small business owners to enable them to meet their needs and continue their projects.