Tunisia Reports Two COVID-19 Variant Cases

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020.REUTERS/Angus McDowall/File Photo
People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020.REUTERS/Angus McDowall/File Photo
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Tunisia Reports Two COVID-19 Variant Cases

People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020.REUTERS/Angus McDowall/File Photo
People wait to get tested for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside a mobile testing lab in Tunis, Tunisia October 7, 2020.REUTERS/Angus McDowall/File Photo

Tunisian health officials announced that two people have been tested positive for a new variant of COVID-19 in the governorate of Tunis.

Recent medical reports revealed that the new variants of the virus, discovered in the UK, South Africa, and Brazil, are highly transmissible compared to the Chinese strain.

Director of the Pasteur Institute Hashemi al-Wazir affirmed that the two new cases were discovered by coincidence after a number of tests were conducted.

Wazir said that the first case is asymptomatic while the second is a senior suffering from critical illness and has passed away.

The Tunisian authorities will intensify research and analysis to know more about this new variant.

Head of the Health and Social Committee in the Tunisian Parliament Dr. Sohail Alouni said that the current laboratory tests in the country are incapable of detecting the recently discovered variants.

He noted that the Health Ministry will import new type of tests to serve this purpose.

Tunisian Health Ministry on Saturday reported 903 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections in the country to 227,643.

On the same day, 36 deaths were recorded, bringing the toll to 7,755.



UN Chief Says Forcing Palestinians to Move Away Is against International Law

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement about the ongoing humanitarian situation and fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement about the ongoing humanitarian situation and fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
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UN Chief Says Forcing Palestinians to Move Away Is against International Law

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement about the ongoing humanitarian situation and fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivers a statement about the ongoing humanitarian situation and fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, at the United Nations headquarters in New York, New York, USA, 08 April 2025. (EPA)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday said that it would be against international law for Palestinians to be forced to be moved away, responding to questions about a US push to take control of the Gaza Strip.

"To be forced to be moved away is something that is against international law," Guterres told a press briefing. "Palestinians must be able to live in a Palestinian state side by side with an Israeli state. That is the only solution that can bring peace to the Middle East."

Guterres also rejected a new Israeli proposal to control aid deliveries in Gaza, saying it risks "further controlling and callously limiting aid down to the last calorie and grain of flour."

"Let me be clear: We will not participate in any arrangement that does not fully respect the humanitarian principles: humanity, impartiality, independence and neutrality," Guterres told reporters.

No aid has been delivered to the Palestinian enclave of some 2.1 million people since March 2. Israel has said it would not allow the entry of all goods and supplies into Gaza until Palestinian militants Hamas release all remaining hostages.

COGAT, the Israeli military agency that coordinates aid, last week met with UN agencies and international aid groups and said it proposed "a structured monitoring and aid entry mechanism" for Gaza.

"The mechanism is designed to support aid organizations, enhance oversight and accountability, and ensure that assistance reaches the civilian population in need, rather than being diverted and stolen by Hamas," COGAT posted on X on Sunday.

Jonathan Whittall, the senior UN aid official for Gaza and the West Bank, said last week that there was no evidence of aid being diverted.

Israel last month resumed its bombardment of Gaza after a two-month truce and sent troops back into the enclave.

"Gaza is a killing field – and civilians are in an endless death loop," said Guterres as he again called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, a permanent ceasefire, and full humanitarian access in Gaza.

"With crossing points into Gaza shut and aid blockaded, security is in shambles and our capacity to deliver has been strangled," he said.

"As the occupying power, Israel has unequivocal obligations under international law – including international humanitarian law and international human rights law," Guterres said.

That means Israel should facilitate relief programs and ensure food, medical care, hygiene and public-health standards in Gaza, he said. "None of that is happening today," he added.

Israel says it does not exercise effective control over Gaza and therefore is not an occupying power.

The war in Gaza was triggered on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas killed 1,200 people in southern Israel, and took some 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, more than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to Gaza health authorities.