Tunisian Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi stressed the importance of supporting the health sector, mobilizing financial and human resources and implementing the ministry’s programs, especially those related to addressing the coronavirus pandemic.
In a recent parliamentary session, Mehdi said the ministry’s plan of action for 2021 focuses on the development of a work strategy to ensure the efficiency of the vaccination campaign and protect the targeted groups, as well as speeding up the implementation of procurement programs for various pandemic-related supplies and equipment.
Meanwhile, several health specialists have expressed concern about the reopening of Tunisia’s borders to tourists.
In its first border reopening attempt in late June 2020, the country saw a surge in the number of deaths due to COVID-19 from only 50 back then to 3,106 deaths by Nov. 26.
During this period, Tunis registered 93,475 cases from only 1,300 before the border reopening.
Tunis registered 1,295 new infection cases and 72 deaths. Also, 1,450 COVID-19 patients are still receiving treatment in hospitals, while 290 are in the intensive care.
The country had previously announced it was exempting tourists from providing PCR test results and from the 14-day quarantine upon their arrival, provided that they strictly adhere to the tourist health protocol throughout their stay.
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