Tunisia Reports Zero COVID-19 Cases for 8th Successive Day

Tunisians wearing protective masks in Tunis, Tunisia (File photo: AFP)
Tunisians wearing protective masks in Tunis, Tunisia (File photo: AFP)
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Tunisia Reports Zero COVID-19 Cases for 8th Successive Day

Tunisians wearing protective masks in Tunis, Tunisia (File photo: AFP)
Tunisians wearing protective masks in Tunis, Tunisia (File photo: AFP)

The Tunisian Ministry of Health announced that the country did not record any new coronavirus cases for the eighth day in a row, which confirms the success of the government plan to limit the spread of the pandemic.

The Ministry stated that the total number of confirmed cases in the country is 49, all of whom who are under medical supervision, with over 989 recoveries.

The director-general of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases, Nissaf Ben Alaya, announced that for over 40 days, 15 of the 24 Tunisian states did not record any COVID-19 cases, while five other states did not report any local cases for over 37 days.

Also, four states including Tunisia, Gafsa, Qibili, and Mahdia, did not report new cases for over 20 days, which confirms the great success in controlling the pandemic, according to Ben Alaya.

She also said that for three consecutive weeks, the virus has not been transmitted over the Tunisian territory. She announced that the next stage of maintaining Tunisia’s health security is considered more difficult than the previous stage of containing the virus.

However, Ben Alaya warned that the virus could return if Tunisians did not respect the recommended health measures, including maintaining social distance and wearing masks in closed areas.

She emphasized that the National Anti-Coronavirus Committee identified several scenarios that include easing lockdown restrictions and measures if the number of cases decreased globally. It also calls for several preventive measures for arrivals from countries with a high number of cases.

Earlier, the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO) announced Tunisia as a "safe tourist destination" during the COVID-19 pandemic.

UNWTO said Tunisia has developed a health protocol to guarantee a safe environment for travelers and workers in the tourism sector.

Tunisia announced it is ready to resume tourism safely and will be reopening its borders on June 27 and welcome international tourists as of July.

The third phase of the country’s efforts to lift its coronavirus lockdown began on June 4, and inter-city and regional travel has already resumed in full.



Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
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Türkiye Criticizes Some NATO Countries’ Support for Kurdish Units in Syria

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)
Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan met with his Czech counterpart, Jan Lipavsky, in Ankara on Tuesday (Turkish Foreign Ministry)

Türkiye criticized the support provided by some of its allies in NATO to the Kurdish People’s Protection Units, the largest component of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

 

“The countries we have problems with... are America, England, and a little bit with France,” Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in a televised interview on Monday.

 

He added: “The United States maintains its presence there, and we are putting this problem on the agenda at all levels... Türkiye is continuing the highest level of diplomacy possible” as “it can no longer live with such a reality.”

 

The foreign minister went on to say: “We carry more sensitivity in our fight against the PKK than you (the US and the UK) do in your fight against terrorism, just on the other side of our border. It is out of the question for us to engage in any negotiations here.”

 

On the other hand, Fidan considered that stopping the armed conflict between the Syrian army and the opposition is currently the main “achievement” of his country and Russia.

 

“The most important thing that we were able to achieve in Syria along with the Russians is that there is no war currently between the army and the opposition, and the Astana negotiations and others made that possible at the present time,” he stated.

He added that Damascus needs to “use this period of calm wisely, as an opportunity to return millions of Syrians who have fled abroad to rebuild their country and revive its economy.”

 

The minister revealed that he discussed this matter during his recent meeting with President Vladimir Putin in Moscow.

 

“We are studying this matter. The return of refugees is important,” Fidan said, adding: “We want the Syrian government to exploit this period of calm, rationally... as an opportunity to solve constitutional problems and achieve peace with the opposition. But we do not see that Damascus is benefiting from this sufficiently.”