[4][5] On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.

[11][9] Lebanon was successful in handling the pandemic during its beginning, having reported between 0 and 100 daily cases from 15 March 2020 to 12 July 2020.

On 21 February 2020, Lebanon confirmed its first case of COVID-19: a 45-year-old woman traveling back from pilgrimage in Qom, Iran tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 and was transferred to a hospital in Beirut.

[16][17] On 28 February, a Syrian woman tested positive and was admitted to Rafik Hariri University Hospital in Beirut.

[24] On 12 March, the third death was reported: a 79-year-old man who was infected from the virus's first killed patient in Lebanon, who was 59, at a hospital in Byblos.

[31] The government announced the two-week closure of Beirut Airport, seaports and land entrances to begin on 18 March.

[32] On 21 March, then Prime Minister, Hassan Diab, in a televised speech, urged people in Lebanon to implement "self-curfew", adding that security forces would enforce the lockdown measures.

[43][44] On 21 May, Lebanon's Health Ministry reported 63 new cases of the coronavirus, the largest single-day increase since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Many of the new cases were the result of Lebanese expatriates returning home, Information Minister Manal Abdel Samad said.

[45] At the morning of 3 August, the head of the Rafik Hariri University Hospital, which served as the main COVID-19 medical facility in Lebanon, warned that it was approaching full capacity.

The Wall Street Journal reported that he had met national security adviser Robert C. O'Brien at the White House the week before to discuss American citizens held in Syria.

[62][63] On 28 December, Lebanon's health minister announced it had reserved 2 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, expected to be delivered by February 2021.

[citation needed] The healthcare system was on the verge of collapse, as hospitals overloaded and few beds remained available.

The head of the Parliamentary Health Committee in the House of Representatives Dr. Asim Araji described the situation as "extremely dangerous".

[71] Lebanese authorities imposed a curfew for two days during Eid al-Fitr celebrations and only allowed a 30% capacity at mosques.

[79] On 6 March, the Minister of Health Hamad Hassan declared that "Lebanon is no longer in Coronavirus containment stage" following the entry of several new cases to Lebanon coming from countries previously classified as not infected and urged the population to take preventive measures such as avoiding public venues, like resorts and theaters.

[81] In reaction to the pandemic, several religious institutions in Lebanon decided to act proactively changing traditional ceremony methods to limit the spread of the virus.

Within Christian communities, churches have emptied fonts of holy water, and communion is carried out by handing the Eucharist instead of placing directly in the mouth.

[91] All people were instructed by the government to stay home, and the army was asked to intervene by order of the Lebanese president and prime minister.

[citation needed] On 12 March, the government announced that internet service through the public provider Ogero would be boosted through the end of April, to encourage users to stay home.

[94] On 12 March 2020, a media site in Lebanon, The961, announced[95] the launch of a live tracker monitoring the number of confirmed cases, deaths, and recoveries in Lebanon in real-time, manually cross-referencing three sources by directly communicating with the Ministry of Health, World Health Organization and the Lebanese Red Cross.

[96] In the announcement thread, The961 founder, Anthony Kantara, explained the frustration of the lack of consistent and clear information as the motivator.

[97] On 19 March, the Information Minister Manal Abdul Samad launched a government site dedicated to the COVID-19 outbreak in Lebanon.

[101] The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet raised the alarm on Lebanon's socio-economic crisis on 10 July 2020.

In addition, Lebanon hosts more than 250,000 migrant workers, many of which have lost their jobs, not been paid, been left homeless, and unable to send remittances to their families back home.

Bachlet called on the country's political parties to urgently enact reforms and prioritize essentials such as electricity, food, health and education.