Tunisia Ends Coronavirus Curfew

Tunisians walk in a street in the village of Sidi Bou Said on May 30, 2020, after shops reopened following a three-month shutdown due to COVID-19. (AFP)
Tunisians walk in a street in the village of Sidi Bou Said on May 30, 2020, after shops reopened following a three-month shutdown due to COVID-19. (AFP)
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Tunisia Ends Coronavirus Curfew

Tunisians walk in a street in the village of Sidi Bou Said on May 30, 2020, after shops reopened following a three-month shutdown due to COVID-19. (AFP)
Tunisians walk in a street in the village of Sidi Bou Said on May 30, 2020, after shops reopened following a three-month shutdown due to COVID-19. (AFP)

Tunisian President Kais Saied on Monday ordered an end to a curfew imposed in March to help slow the spread of the coronavirus, his office said, citing success in controlling the disease.

Tunisia has already reopened shops, businesses, mosques, cafes and hotels after locking down nearly all normal business for months.

Tunisia in March closed its international borders, stopped all movement between towns and cities, shuttered mosques, shops, schools, cafes and restaurants, imposed a nightly curfew and stopped people leaving homes at day for most reasons.

It has recorded under 1,087 cases of the coronavirus and 49 deaths, compared with nearly 10,000 cases in neighboring Algeria. The only recent cases came from people arriving into quarantine from abroad.

Schools will stay closed to most students until the start of the new academic year in September and the government still restricts social gatherings at homes and urges the wearing of masks. International borders will reopen fully in late June.

Tunisia’s government has announced compensation measures to help businesses and needy families with the economic effects of the lockdown and has agreed a package of financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund.



Morocco to Spend $260 mln on Flood Relief

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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Morocco to Spend $260 mln on Flood Relief

File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
File photo of a police officer standing near a Moroccan national flag near the main stadium during preparations for the FIFA Club World Cup in Agadir, December 10, 2013. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

The Moroccan government said on Thursday it plans to spend 2.5 billion dirhams ($ 260 million) on a flood relief plan that includes reconstruction aid, infrastructure upgrades and farming support.

Floods ravaged several villages in the country’s south-east last month, killing at least 28 people and destroying roads.

The government will offer 80,000 dirhams for partially demolished homes and 140,000 dirhams for totally collapsed ones, the prime minister’s office said, Reuters reported.

The plan includes upgrading destroyed infrastructure and support to affected farmers.

Separately, the government said it will continue, for the next five months, to offer cash handouts of 2500 dirhams to some 60,000 households affected by an earthquake that hit the High Atlas mountains in September 2023.

One year on, just 1000 homes have been built, according to official data, as the government continues its gradual construction aid plan for some 57,000 damaged or totally destroyed homes.