​“The Cabinet convened in a session chaired by His Excellency the President of the Republic and attended by the Prime Minister and the ministers. At the beginning of the session, His Excellency the President spoke, saluting nurses on their global day which falls on May 12, and said:“ Greetings to the angels of mercy whom we remember every day. We salute their efforts and loyalty to their humanitarian missions. We lived with them, and still are, their struggle to take care of Corona patients, despite the risks that threaten them during their work, and a number of them were injured and did not hesitate to continue their tasks. As we congratulate them on their global day, we wish them more benevolence, and we promise them to stand by their side for fairness and fulfill their rights and demands. To all the nurses we say we are with you”. Then, His Excellency tackled the necessity of reviewing arrangements and measures taken to confront “Corona” virus, especially since the number of casualties has unfortunately developed over the past few days. His Excellency called for tightening control over quarantine zones, and the cooperation of all concerned to ensure the success of the preventive measures taken in all Lebanese regions, wishing the citizens who follow the home quarantine to abide by all that is required of them in this framework, in order to avoid taking legal measures against them if they violated prevention rules.

Then the Prime Minister said: “This government achieved an important accomplishment in facing the challenge of Corona pandemic, for nearly two and a half months, and we succeeded in protecting Lebanon with the highest rate through measures and procedures that we took from the beginning, despite the varying percentage of commitment from one region to another. Unfortunately, due to complacency in some areas, neglect and irresponsibility of some citizens, this achievement today is threatened to collapse. It appears that the Coronavirus factor ("R" rate), the rate that measures the rate of spread of the virus from one person to another, has accelerated in our society in the past three days. There are 109 new cases within 4 days, and this number brings us back a lot. We must return this indicator number to what it was previously, that is, to less than 1. Although it takes us longer than three days to know the true direction of the pandemic, we will take immediate measures that protect our health security without risk. Accordingly, we will return to the full closure inside for a period of 4 days, from the evening of Wednesday, May 13, until the morning of Monday, May 18, so that the Health Ministry teams can conduct tests and track and isolate all cases quickly (test, trace and identify all cases) that appeared during the past few days, with the exception of the hospital and health institutions and the food, agricultural and industrial sectors. Closure must be complete and comprehensive in all regions, and there should be no relaxation at all. The security apparatuses must be strict in implementing closure plan measures, and citizens must adhere to all measures to protect themselves, their families and our community from the collapse we are witnessing in most of the countries of the world. Also, we will review the plan to reopen the sectors, and we are in the third phase today. Another issue that should be among our top priorities at this stage is the crazy rise in prices of food and consumer goods. There is greed among some merchants, and they shouldn’t remain without accountability. Some traders take advantage of the current situation to make huge profits at the expense of the Lebanese livelihood. This indicates that these merchants have no human, moral or national conscience. Therefore, there must be strict procedures against them. Also, concerning the US Dollar vs LBP exchange rate, this issue should be one of the top priorities, because it reflects on the lives of the Lebanese people in various aspects. I previously asked the Interior Minister and security apparatuses to strictly control bank violations, and this is what actually happened, and now the file of bank violations is in the custody of the judiciary under follow-up, and it should be clear to everyone who wants to manipulate the national currency that he will be held accountable. I also asked the Central Bank Governor, to pump US Dollars into the markets to curb the high exchange rate by achieving a minimum balance, and this matter is necessary, and it is the responsibility of the Central Bank Governor.

Regarding the corruption files, including the adulterated fuel file, the government adopted, from its inception, in its ministerial statement the principle of the independence of the judiciary. And I stress not to interfere in the work of the judiciary, which bears great responsibility today in opening corruption files, and conducting investigations that determine responsibilities, without prior provisions, in order to enhance transparency and credibility. Turning to the Government’s plan for financial reform, and after the Cabinet voted unanimously on it, it is supposed to remind the state units, including the Central Bank, that it is part of the Government, and it must work to make the plan work to reduce the burdens on the citizens.

It is also useful to remind Parliamentary blocs that support the Government of the necessity of defending this basic issue, because the unified position is very essential to reaching an acceptable program with the International Monetary Fund, and the fact that divisions in our ranks do not increase the burdens and conditions on the shoulders of the Lebanese.

We have not yet heard serious alternatives to the Government plan, and the Lebanese cannot be left without options if divisions cause the current course to fail. The world is satisfied with our plan, and this credibility must be built on. It is not permissible for some people to vote on the plan and then speak against it, barring a place for itself with the plan if it succeeds, and with its enemies if it fails, God forbid.

The financial reform plan is not owned by the state or the Government, but rather is a path for the state, which preserves the country, and protects the Lebanese. Therefore, targeting this plan is not targeting the Government, but rather to preventing Lebanon from obtaining foreign aid which contributes to alleviating the financial crisis on the Lebanese, and every endeavor to bring it down would harm the interest of Lebanon and the Lebanese”.

Afterwards, the cabinet studied the agenda and took the appropriate decisions regarding it. Regarding the issue of fighting the Corona virus, according to the Decree of the General Mobilization Declaration No. 6198/2020, the Council decided:

- Full closure for a period of four days, starting from 19:00 pm on Wednesday, 13/5/2020 until five o'clock in the morning on Monday, 18/5/2020, with the exception of hospital and health institutions, and the food, agricultural and industrial sectors, in addition to affirming the obligation of citizens to remain in homes and not leaving them unless absolutely necessary, as well as preventing gatherings in public and private zones, provided that the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities issues the necessary steps to put this decision into practice.

On the other hand, the Cabinet decided to agree accepting a cash donation from the Lebanese Tobacco Administration at a value equivalent to one million US dollars that can be transferred abroad, according to Article 52 of the Public Accounting Law, and the provisions of Law 161/2020, especially paragraphs 3 and 4 of Article 1 From it, provided that a portion of this donation is used to assist and transport financially troubled Lebanese students who are abroad, especially in isolated areas and those suffering from the Corona virus.

The Council also decided to approve the draft of the Minister of State for Administrative Development Affairs related to the national strategy to combat corruption after making some amendments. The Cabinet heard a presentation by the Minister of Information on the Ministry’s strategic plan for the next stage, and took note of it, provided that the research will be completed in the next two weeks.​