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.

COVID-19大流行于2020年2月21日首次影响黎巴嫩，一个月后，它到达了黎巴嫩北部一个偏远的小镇Bcharri。当设施不足且资金有限的类似农村地区受到影响时，后果可能是灾难性的，这就需要精心准备和迅速做出反应。

在我们的研究中，我们描述了为该镇做好应对COVID-19疫情的准备工作所采取的不同措施，以及在确认第一例病例后我们的快速反应。我们强调面对此类威胁时农村地区的区别和需求，以及积极主动的社区和地方倡议的重要性。我们还详细介绍了我们的联系追踪策略和大规模测试活动，以及对感染COVID-19的患者的早期管理。我们希望我们的经验能够在COVID-19大流行和未来爆发期间在类似农村地区的地区重现。