Challenges facing COVID-19 in rural areas: an experience from Lebanon

Kerbage, Anthony; Matta, Marc; Haddad, Sara; Daniel, Pascale; Tawk, Lucie; Gemayel, Setrida; Amine, Abdallah; Warrak, Rania; Germanos, Myrna; Haddad, Fady; Geagea, Antoine

The COVID-19 pandemic first affected Lebanon on February 21st 2020, and one month later it reached Bcharri, a small remote town in northern Lebanon. When similar rural areas with under-equipped facilities and financial limitations are affected, outcomes could be catastrophic, raising the need for meticulous preparation and rapid response. In our study, we describe the different measures taken to prepare this town for the COVID-19 outbreak, as well as our rapid response after the first case was confirmed. We emphasize the distinctions and the needs of rural areas when facing such threats, and the importance of a proactive community and local initiatives. We also detail our contact tracing strategy and massive testing campaign, as well as our early management of patients infected with COVID-19. We hope that our experience can be reproducible in areas with similar rural settings, during the COVID-19 pandemic and future outbreaks.