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COVID-19 Deaths Rise in Tunisia

Tunisians working in the tourism industry receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on June 4, 2021 in Tunis. AFP
Tunisians working in the tourism industry receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on June 4, 2021 in Tunis. AFP
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COVID-19 Deaths Rise in Tunisia

Tunisians working in the tourism industry receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on June 4, 2021 in Tunis. AFP
Tunisians working in the tourism industry receive a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 coronavirus vaccine on June 4, 2021 in Tunis. AFP

The increasing number of COVID-19-related deaths in Tunisia triggered Thursday widespread concerns as officials warned the epidemiological situation could further deteriorate in the country.

The Health Ministry said Tunisia recorded 103 fatalities on June 8, taking the death toll to 13,229.

The Ministry said further 2,102 infections were reported from 8,109 tests (a positivity rate of 25.92%), pushing the infection caseload to 360,285.

It added that 1,274 more recoveries were recorded, taking the overall count to 316,004.

Ministry of Health spokeswoman Nissaf Ben Alaya confirmed on Thursday reports that the epidemiological alert reached very high levels in 21 out of 24 districts.

Ben Alaya stressed the need to abide by precautionary and preventive measures to contain the spread of the pandemic.

Authorities in Tunisia decided to extend COVID-19 restrictions by keeping in place a nightly curfew from 10 pm till 5 am through June 27.

It also kept health protocols for passengers entering or transiting through Tunisia. They must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test result issued at most 72 hours before departure from the first embarkation point.

Also, health protocols in cafes and restaurants will be maintained with capacity restrictions of 30% indoors and 50% outdoors.

Tunisia announced that 1,252,125 COVID-19 vaccines have been administered since the start of the inoculation campaign on March 13.

The Health Ministry said 28,562 vaccines were administered on June 9, while 2,339,290 people have so far registered on the national vaccination platform Evax.tn.

The government plans to vaccinate half of the country's population – 5.5 million people – by the end of the year.

This week, the Tunisian government announced an agreement with the WHO for Tunis to receive 100,000 new vaccine doses by the end of July and another 500,000 in the coming months.

Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said the country has received only 1.6 million jabs of the 2.5 million hoped for by March via the WHO-led COVAX initiative.

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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
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Italy Plans to Return Ambassador to Syria to Reflect New Diplomatic Developments, Minister Says

Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)
Italy's Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani speaks while meeting with members of the G7, on July 11, 2024, during the NATO summit in Washington. (AP)

Italy plans to send an ambassador back to Syria after a decade-long absence, the country’s foreign minister said, in a diplomatic move that could spark divisions among European Union allies.

Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani, speaking in front of relevant parliamentary committees Thursday, announced Rome’s intention to re-establish diplomatic ties with Syria to prevent Russia from monopolizing diplomatic efforts in the Middle Eastern country.

Moscow is considered a key supporter of Syrian President Bashar Assad, who has remained in power despite widespread Western isolation and civilian casualties since the start of Syria’s civil war in March 2011.

Peaceful protests against the Assad government — part of the so-called “Arab Spring” popular uprisings that spread across some of the Middle East — were met by a brutal crackdown, and the uprising quickly spiraled into a full-blown civil war.

The conflict was further complicated by the intervention of foreign forces on all sides and a rising militancy, first by al-Qaida-linked groups and then the ISIS group until its defeat on the battlefield in 2019.

The war, which has killed nearly half a million people and displaced half the country’s pre-war population of 23 million, is now largely frozen, despite ongoing low-level fighting.

The country is effectively carved up into areas controlled by the Damascus-based government of Assad, various opposition groups and Syrian Kurdish forces.

In the early days of the conflict, many Western and Arab countries cut off relations with Syria, including Italy, which has since managed Syria-related diplomacy through its embassy in Beirut.

However, since Assad has regained control over most of the territory, neighboring Arab countries have gradually restored relations, with the most symbolically significant move coming last year when Syria was re-admitted to the Arab League.

Tajani said Thursday the EU’s policy in Syria should be adapted to the “development of the situation,” adding that Italy has received support from Austria, Croatia, Greece, the Czech Republic, Slovenia, Cyprus and Slovakia.

However, the US and allied countries in Europe have largely continued to hold firm in their stance against Assad’s government, due to concerns over human rights violations.