May 5, 2020: Double Jeopardy LEBANON PANDEMIC: Lebanon is among the most indebted countries in the world, the state defaulted on its overseas loans earlier this year. Since then, the local currency has taken a nose dive and, to make matters worse for the general population, the government continued to cut spending on its social services. The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah is pulling on its deep resources in the fight against coronavirus, including volunteers, doctors and facilities, giving it a prominent role in the crisis hit country's response to the pandemic. Lebanese national poverty and unemployment rates are approaching fifty percent due to the ongoing economic crisis, and now with the Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown combined have pushed the country to the brink.
© zReportage Issue #735: May 5, 2020: Double Jeopardy LEBANON PANDEMIC: Lebanon is among the most indebted countries in the world, the state defaulted on its overseas loans earlier this year. Since then, the local currency has taken a nose dive and, to make matters worse for the general population, the government continued to cut spending on its social services. The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah is pulling on its deep resources in the fight against coronavirus, including volunteers, doctors and facilities, giving it a prominent role in the crisis hit country's response to the pandemic. Lebanese national poverty and unemployment rates are approaching fifty percent due to the ongoing economic crisis, and now with the Covid19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown combined have pushed the country to the brink.

Members of the medical team of the pro-Iranian party Hezbollah, are seen wearing full personal protective gear during a display to demonstrate their readiness for the coronavirus battle. Hezbollah is a Shia Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon. Saudi Arabia led Gulf countries and the Arab League to declare Hezbollah a terrorist group.
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Female members of the medical team of the pro-Iranian party Hezbollah, stand outside Beirut's St. George Hospital which Hezbollah transformed into a sanatorium for coronavirus patients. Hezbollah is mobilizing thousands of front line medics and readying field hospitals as well as carrying disinfection works on Lebanese streets to help confront the coronavirus pandemic.
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A member of the medical team of the pro-Iranian party Hezbollah, stands at the entrance of a medical tent field hospital for coronavirus patients. The Lebanese paramilitary group Hezbollah is pulling on its deep resources in the fight against coronavirus, including volunteers, doctors and facilities, giving it a prominent role in the crisis hit country's response to the pandemic.
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A 'CLOSED' sign can be seen at the gate of a church during the Catholic Palm Sunday. Lebanon's churches cancelled the colorful Christian procession of Palm Sunday and services were held behind closed doors due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. One estimate of the Christian share of Lebanon's population as of 2012 is 40 percent, giving the country the largest percentage of Christians of all the Middle Eastern nations.
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A Lebanese passenger waves as he sits inside a bus after arriving back in the country from Saudi Arabia. The first flight carrying stranded Lebanese workers arrived with over 70 passengers from Riyadh.
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A Lebanese woman (C) wheeling her luggage, and wearing a protective suit leaves Beirut airport after arriving back from Saudi Arabia. Lebanese people form one of the largest community of non-citizen Arabs in Saudi Arabia.
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Doctor WAEL ZARKOT adjusts his face mask as he puts on his full personal protective gear before starting his shift at the Coronavirus emergency ward at Rafiq Hariri University Hospital.
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Members of the medical team of the pro-Iranian party Hezbollah, are seen wearing full protective gear during a display to demonstrate their readiness for the coronavirus battle. Hezbollah is mobilizing thousands of front line medics and readying field hospitals to fight the pandemic.
© Marwan Naamani/DPA via ZUMA Press

A nurse holds a test tube with a patients Covid-19 test sample taken at the Coronavirus emergency ward at Rafiq Hariri University Hospital.
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Members of the paramilitary party Hezbollah medical team, sterilize a street with disinfectant in Beirut amid the coronavirus outbreak.
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Lebanese surgeon MOHAMAD KUDIEH walks home after finishing his shift at the American University hospital in Beirut during the nationwide lockdown aiming to curb the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
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Residents stand on their balconies at an apartment building in Beirut during a nationwide lockdown aiming to curb the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19).
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A woman wearing a face mask walks in front a closed shop in Beirut during a nationwide lockdown aiming to curb the spread of Coronavirus (Covid-19). The Lebanese pound plunged against the US dollar, reaching its lowest point since the beginning of the year as the country faces one of its worst economic crisis exacerbated by the harsh measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
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A baker is seen wearing a face mask and gloves as he makes bread at a bakery in Beirut amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak. The country is facing one of its worst economic crisis exacerbated by the harsh measures taken to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
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Members of the pro-Iranian Hezbollah party, prepare food parcels for needy people who are affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Hezbollah is mobilizing thousands of front line volunteers and medics while readying field hospitals to help confront the coronavirus pandemic.
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A Lebanese chef is seen wearing a face shield and latex gloves as he prepares food at his restaurant in Beirut amid the Coronavirus (Covid-19) outbreak.
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Anti-government protesters smash the glass facade of a local bank during riots in the northern Lebanese port-city of Tripoli. Lebanese protesters returned to the streets, attacking and burning banks in northern Lebanon to protest the deteriorating economic situation in the country.
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An anti-government activist, gestures with his hands stained with the blood of an injured colleague during a protest to mark Labor Day 2020 and demonstration marches against the economic situations that the country faces.
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