عربي English Türkçe اردو فارسى
Logo
Latest News
Arab World

Libya Eases Coronavirus Restrictions, Reopens Border with Tunisia

Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
TT
TT

Libya Eases Coronavirus Restrictions, Reopens Border with Tunisia

Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)
Libyans wait to receive a COVID-19 vaccine in Tripoli last Wednesday. (AFP)

Libya has started relaxing the coronavirus-related restrictions. The Government of National Unity announced that land crossings will reopen and air travel with Tunisia will resume as of Thursday.

However, it urged the people to continue to comply with preventative precautions to fight the pandemic.

Authorities stated that the epidemic situation in the country is reassuring following a decline in infections.

Official figures, however, showed that more than 2,000 cases were being recorded daily.

Minister of State for Cabinet Affairs Adel Gomaa directed Minister of Transportation Muhammad Salem Al-Shahoubi and Minister of Interior Khaled Mazen to reopen the border crossings with Tunisia.

Libya closed land and air borders with its neighbor in July in an effort to limit the spread of the virus.

Libya registered 2,325 coronavirus new cases and 12 deaths, said the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) on Wednesday.

This brings the total number of COVID-19 cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 289,000 and 209,000 recoveries.

Malta and Greece have respectively sent 40,000 and 200,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine to Libya. A total of 890,000 people have so far been inoculated.

Most Viewed

 
 
Arab World

UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
TT
TT

UN Rights Chief ‘Gravely Concerned’ by Lebanon Escalation

Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)
Smoke billows above Beirut’s southern suburbs following an Israeli airstrike on November 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and Hezbollah. (AFP)

The UN rights chief on Tuesday voiced concern about the escalation of hostilities in Lebanon, where his office said nearly 100 people had been reported killed by Israeli airstrikes in recent days, including women, children and medics.

Israel has been locked in fighting with Lebanese armed group Hezbollah since Oct. 2023, and fighting has escalated dramatically since late September of this year.

"UN Human Rights Chief Volker Turk is gravely concerned by the escalation in Lebanon with at least 97 people reportedly killed in Israeli airstrikes between the 22nd and 24th of November," Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for the Office of the High Commissioner of Human Rights, told a Geneva press briefing.

He said that at least seven paramedics had been reported killed in three Israeli strikes in the south of Lebanon on Nov. 22-23, adding to 226 healthcare worker deaths since Oct. 7, 2023. He did not specify how many of the recent deaths had been verified by UN human rights monitors.

Israel says it targets military capabilities in Lebanon and Gaza and takes steps to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians. It accuses Hezbollah, like Hamas, of hiding among civilians, which they deny.