The Libyan capital, Tripoli, is preparing to implement a full curfew during Eid al-Fitr holiday to fight the coronavirus pandemic.
The Presidential Council (PC) has made a decision to extend the partial curfew for a further ten days, beginning from Monday, but insisted on imposing a 24-hour curfew throughout the Eid.
The Supreme Committee to Combat the Coronavirus Epidemic (SCCCE) recommended these measures to reduce the risks of a further outbreak.
Meanwhile, Libyans rushed to the markets to buy food and new clothes for children, as they complained of a hike in prices.
Libya has recorded 65 coronavirus infections, including three deaths since the first case was detected in March.
Many citizens stranded abroad due to measures stopping the spread of the virus have recently returned to Libya.
Director of the International Health Supervision Agency at the Ras Ajdir land border Mukhtar al-Mansouri said 47 citizens returned from Tunisia, while Misrata International Airport received 342 citizens from Germany and some other European countries.
Medical services in eastern Libya started testing illegal migrants in deportation centers and shelters.
This step, according to the Medical Advisory Committee, is part of a plan set to conduct random tests throughout residential areas.
It comes in light of warnings by the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization (WHO) against the coronavirus effect on infants in Libya.
“UNICEF and WHO are raising the alarm over severe vaccine shortages in Libya that are putting more than 250,000 children under one year of age at severe risk,” the UNICEF office in Libya announced in a statement on Tuesday.
“The situation is made worse by the continued armed conflict, the COVID-19 pandemic, disrupted health care services, regular power cuts, shortages of safe water supplies and the closure of schools and child-friendly spaces.”
“Immunization is one of the most effective public health interventions and when routine vaccinations are missed, there is a high chance of a resurgence of a measles outbreak, other preventable diseases, and fatalities among children”, it quoted its Special Representative Abdel-Rahman Ghandour as warning.
“There is an urgent need to ensure an uninterrupted flow of funds for vaccine procurement to cater for the current shortfall,” Ghandour stressed.
