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| - Lebanon on Sunday started repatriating nationals stranded abroad in its first flight in weeks since it closed its international airport to stem the novel coronavirus. The first of four planes touched down at the Beirut international airport late Sunday morning bringing in 78 passengers from Riyadh, local television reported. It showed health personnel in protective gear taking the temperature of disembarking passengers. The Mediterranean country announced a lockdown and closed its airport on March 18 as part of measures to curb the spread of COVID-19, which has officially infected 527 people and killed 18 nationwide. An AFP photographer saw a dozen buses outside the airport waiting to transport the passengers. Prime Minister Hassan Diab had arrived earlier amid heavy deployment of the Lebanese army, he said. Authorities said more than 20,000 had signed up to be repatriated in total this week and at the end of the month. Lebanese carrier Middle East Airlines has said flights would also land in Beirut on Sunday from Abu Dhabi, Lagos and Abidjan. It has also announced return trips to Paris, Madrid and Kinshasa on Tuesday. Lebanese returning home must either test negative for the virus no longer than three days before their return, or be tested immediately upon arrival, according to government guidelines. They must pay for their own ticket and their families are not allowed to meet them at the airport. The government has said priority will be given to those with critical health conditions such as diabetes or cancer, those aged over 60 and under 18, and families. But critics have complained of steep ticket fares, while a financial crisis has severely restricted transactions from Lebanese bank accounts. Coronavirus is the latest crisis to hit Lebanon, which is already reeling under a crumbling economy. Due to an acute liquidity crisis, banks have since September increasingly been restricting access to dollars and have halted money transfers abroad. On Monday, however, the banking association agreed to allow dollar transfers to Lebanese students outside the country to help them face the coronavirus pandemic, the finance ministry said. Diab on Sunday told reporters the government was studying the possibility of supporting returning Lebanese students with a ticket. Lebanese expatriates and activists have clamoured online for MEA to lower the price of its tickets and help those who can't afford it. The airline on Friday claimed tickets were more expensive -- $650 for an economy class seat from Riyadh and $1,800 for a cheaper fare from Abidjan for example -- because planes would be empty on the way out to evacuations. str-ah/fz
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