DUBAI: Lebanese Prime Minister Hassan Diab has allocated 1.2 trillion Lebanese pounds ($797 million) to cover the costs of COVID-19, which has forced industries across the globe to shut down. He said the fund would “help daily workers in the public sector, support the health sector and farmers, and give small industrial enterprises subsidized loans to stimulate the national industry.” Diab added the epidemic has worsened the country’s decades-old economic, financial and social crises, and has made “the situation more difficult and critical.” The Lebanese leader made the statement amid strict lockdown measures that have been implemented in Lebanon to curb the spread of the virus. Diab said the government was in talks to create a plan to restart the economy and gradually lift the restrictions.