Tunisia begins strict COVID lockdown rules

Tunisia currently has over 500 people in intensive care, a level never seen before in the North African region. Tunisia began a week of coronavirus restrictions on Sunday, spanning the Eid holiday, as hospitals struggle to remain afloat in the face of rising COVID-19 cases. Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said on Friday that Tunisia was going through “the worst health crisis in its history” and that health facilities were at risk of collapse. Mosques, markets, and non-essential shops must close before next Sunday, gatherings and family or cultural events are prohibited, and people are not permitted to travel between regions.

An overnight curfew goes into effect at 7 p.m. (18:00 GMT) instead of 10 p.m. and lasts until 5 a.m. 

Since mid-April, schools have been closed. Shops along Tunis’s central Habib Bourguiba Avenue and in the old city were all closed on Sunday.  However, videos posted on social media seemed to show almost regular behavior in other parts of the world, including people wearing no masks and disregarding social distancing. The Eid al-Fitr holidays, which commemorate the end of Ramadan, are usually a gathering of Muslim families and relatives. The holiday is scheduled to begin on Thursday this year.

More than 319,000 coronavirus cases and 11,350 deaths have been officially registered in Tunisia, a nation with a population of nearly 12 million people. More than 500 people are in intensive care right now, a record high for the North African region. To cope with the influx of patients, the country has set up field hospitals. It’s also having trouble meeting its oxygen requirements, and has asked for help from European countries and even Algeria, which is dealing with its own health crisis. A vaccination campaign that began in mid-March, a month later than expected, is progressing more slowly than expected.

Data source: AFP