Libya's new unity government on Thursday announced it was closing its borders with Tunisia for a week and suspending classes at schools and universities for two weeks, as Libya grapples with a rise in coronavirus infections.
The National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) announced 1,710 new COVID-19 cases. The tally exceeded 200,000 of whom 180,000 recovered, while 3,200 died.
Member of the Epidemiology Committee at the NCDC Tarek Jibril attributed the increase in cases to the outbreak of the coronavirus delta variant in neighboring countries.
Saying Libya is grappling with the pandemic’s third wave, he urged the population to abide by physical distancing, wearing facemasks and avoiding crowded places.
The unity government announced it was closing its border with Tunisia and stopping flights between the two countries for a week due to the rise in coronavirus cases in the neighboring country, a government spokesman said.
The decision came as a precautionary step to what the government described as the "worsening situation” in the “collapsed health system," as well as the increasing number of cases with the delta variant in Tunisia.
"The Libyan state, through its consulate in Tunisia, will take care of its nationals stranded in Tunisian territory as a result of this decision until their return to the country is facilitated," said Mohamed Hamouda, the Government of National Unity (GNU) spokesman.
Hamouda also said universities and schools have suspended classes for around two weeks to contain the pandemic.
Minister of Education Dr. Musa al-Maqrif highlighted that the safety of administrators, teachers, and students remains a top priority.
Libya received last week the third shipment of the Russian Sputnik vaccine.
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