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ICU Beds in Tunisia Nearing Full Capacity

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020. Reuters
People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020. Reuters
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ICU Beds in Tunisia Nearing Full Capacity

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020. Reuters
People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020. Reuters

Tunisian Health Minister Fawzi al-Mahdi warned that intensive care unit (ICU) beds have reached 80 percent capacity as the coronavirus pandemic continues its rapid spread.

Tunisia has just 181 ICU beds, of which 145 are now being used by patients, Mahdi told reporters.

Director of the Pasteur Institute Hashemi Al-Wazir has revealed 30 deaths and 800 hospitalized cases.

A total of 180 out of the 800 patients have low oxygen levels, while 60-70 patients are in the ICU and require artificial ventilation.

Regarding the age category of fatalities, Hashemi said that 50 percent of them were above 70.

Director of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya stressed that the situation in Tunisia is delicate and the country is still in a dangerous phase.

Speaking about the potential repercussions of the measures taken by the government, Ben Alaya noted that the consequences can’t be evaluated for now.

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Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
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Biden Calls Israeli Strike that killed Nasrallah a ‘Measure of Justice’

Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush
Rubble of damaged buildings lies at the site of Israeli strikes on Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon September 28, 2024. REUTERS/Ali Alloush

US President Joe Biden on Saturday called the Israeli strike that killed Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah a “measure of justice.”

The comments came after Hezbollah confirmed earlier Saturday that Nasrallah, one of the group’s founders, was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Beirut the previous day.

Biden noted that the operation to take out Nasrallah took place in the broader context of the conflict that began with Hamas’ attack on Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023.

“Nasrallah, the next day, made the fateful decision to join hands with Hamas and open what he called a ‘northern front’ against Israel,” Biden said in a statement.

He also noted that Hezbollah under Nasrallah’s watch has been responsible for the deaths of thousands of Americans.

The State Department on Saturday ordered the departure of the families of US diplomats who are not employed by the embassy in Beirut. It also authorized the departure of those who are, as well as nonessential employees because of “the volatile and unpredictable security situation” in Lebanon’s capital.

The State Department has previously advised American citizens to consider leaving Lebanon and reiterated its warning against all travel to the country.

“Due to the increased volatility following airstrikes within Beirut and the volatile and unpredictable security situation throughout Lebanon, the US Embassy urges US citizens to depart Lebanon while commercial options still remain available,” the department said in a statement Saturday.

The State Department routinely orders or authorizes the departure of nonessential embassy staffers and the families of diplomats when security conditions in the country where they are posted deteriorate.

An ordered departure is not technically an evacuation but does require those affected to leave. An authorized departure allows those affected to leave the country voluntarily at government expense.