عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

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
TT
TT

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.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

Over 50,000 Have Fled Lebanon for Syria Amid Israeli Strikes, Says UN

Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
TT
TT

Over 50,000 Have Fled Lebanon for Syria Amid Israeli Strikes, Says UN

Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo
Syrians, who were living in Lebanon and returned to Syria due to ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, carry belongings at the Syrian-Lebanese border, in Jdaydet Yabous, Syria, September 25, 2024. REUTERS/Yamam al Shaar/File Photo

The UN refugee chief said Saturday that more than 50,000 people had fled to Syria amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Lebanon.

"More than 50,000 Lebanese and Syrians living in Lebanon have now crossed into Syria fleeing Israeli air strikes," Filippo Grandi said on X.

He added that "well over 200,000 people are displaced inside Lebanon".

A UNHCR spokesman said the total number of displaced in Lebanon had reached 211,319, including 118,000 just since Israel dramatically ramped up its air strikes on Monday, AFP reported.

The remainder had fled their homes since Hezbollah militants in Lebanon began low-intensity cross-border attacks a day after its Palestinian ally Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.

Israel has shifted the focus of its operation from Gaza to Lebanon, where heavy bombing has killed more than 700 people, according to Lebanon's health ministry, as cross-border exchanges escalated over the past week.

Most of those Lebanese deaths came on Monday, the deadliest day of violence since Lebanon's 1975-1990 civil war.

"Relief operations are underway, including by UNHCR, to help all those in need, in coordination with both governments," Grandi said.