Tunisia’s Coronavirus Cases Pass the 5,000 Mark

Tourists walk, one of them wearing a protective face mask, in the Old City of Tunis. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Tourists walk, one of them wearing a protective face mask, in the Old City of Tunis. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
TT

Tunisia’s Coronavirus Cases Pass the 5,000 Mark

Tourists walk, one of them wearing a protective face mask, in the Old City of Tunis. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi
Tourists walk, one of them wearing a protective face mask, in the Old City of Tunis. REUTERS/Zoubeir Souissi

The total number of people infected with the coronavirus in Tunisia passed the 5,400 mark since the COVID-19 disease was discovered in the country on March 2, Director of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya said.

She pointed out that around 265 health workers had been infected, while the death toll almost doubled from 50 to 96 cases following the reopening of the Tunisian border on June 27.

Ben Alaya noted that around 293 people tested positive on September 7, bringing the number of active cases in Tunisia to 3,459. A total of 86 COVID-19 patients are currently hospitalized, including 26 in intensive care units.

Since the border’s reopening, 4,216 infections have been reported, including 587 imported cases, 3,584 domestic (85 percent) and 46 deaths (1 percent).

Jalila Ben Khalil, a member of the Standing Committee for the fight against the coronavirus, raised the red flag on the pandemic.

Othman al-Jallouli, general secretary of the General University of Health, also urged the Tunisian government to refrain from declaring victory over the disease.

He called for allotting more funds to the fight against the pandemic.



Gunmen Attack Tunisian Military Patrol Near Libya Border, Soldier Killed

Tunisian soldiers in Tunis - File Photo/EPA
Tunisian soldiers in Tunis - File Photo/EPA
TT

Gunmen Attack Tunisian Military Patrol Near Libya Border, Soldier Killed

Tunisian soldiers in Tunis - File Photo/EPA
Tunisian soldiers in Tunis - File Photo/EPA

Unidentified attackers opened fire on a Tunisian military patrol near the Libyan border on Wednesday, killing a soldier, the Tunisian Ministry of Defense said.