CIMIC operators work relentlessly to prevent spread of COVID-19

21/04/2020

Shama (Lebanon), April 20^th 2020

Multinational CIMIC Group specialists support the Lebanese population to curb COVID-19 spread with several donations of medical equipment and supplies

Donations from Multinational CIMIC Group specialists -detached under the UNIFIL Sector West command- continued the past week with various medical and personal protective equipment handed to the communities in south Lebanon in the collective efforts to contain the spread of the COVID-19 Coronavirus. The Italian peacekeepers from the Multinational CIMIC Group handed out those life-saving items at the Bint Jubeyl and Tibnin main medical facilities. During the last donation in Tibnin, in south-western Lebanon, representatives of the main public hospital received a new RT-PCR Diagnostic Panel to test the qualitative detection of nucleic acid from the 2019-nCoV in upper and lower respiratory specimens collected from individuals who meet 2019-nCoV clinical and/or epidemiological criteria to check their positivity to the virus. The supplies delivered in Tibnin and in Bint Jubeyl the previous week were funded through the Mission’s quick impact project (QIP), which seeks to address some of the most pressing needs of the population and support local authorities while strengthening links between UNIFIL and local communities. The strong bond between Italy and Lebanon has been underlined in the past days by the Mayor of Tyre who wanted to illuminate the city tower with the colors of the flags of the two nations as a sign of solidarity and unity between the two peoples in the common fight against Coronavirus COVID-19. The ongoing Multinational CIMIC specialists support to the local communities is matched by the Mission’s robust precautionary measures in place, since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak, in order to prevent the virus spread. UNIFIL supports seek to improve capabilities and enhance efforts to prevent the spread of the highly infectious virus. All the CIMIC specialists deployed in Lebanon are militaries from the Multinational CIMIC Group, a joint and multinational unit, located in Motta di Livenza, national center of excellence for CIMIC training.