Tripoli-based govt to impose ‘full lockdown’ on territory it controls in Libya after sharp rise in Covid-19 cases

Libya’s internationally recognized government in Tripoli will impose a full lockdown in areas of the country it controls. The statement on Thursday came after a sharp rise in coronavirus cases.

The country has been split since 2014 between areas held by the Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli and a rival administration in the east. Libya managed to avoid an early surge of the pandemic.

However, the disease has been spreading more quickly this month. Libya’s National Center for Disease Control, one of the few bodies that operates across the country despite the conflict, has confirmed 3,222 cases, Reuters said.

The lockdown will start on Friday and last for at least five days, forbidding all movement outside except to buy necessities, and replacing a partial 9pm to 6am curfew. Authorities in Benghazi, in eastern Libya, have also imposed restrictions on movement