Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday declared a nationwide, round-the-clock self-isolation of inhabitants to combat the spread of the novel coronavirus in the country, after an increase in confirmed cases.
The start date and implementation of the self-isolation will be specified by the government later on Friday, the presidency told AFP.
During the day, everyone should stay home and only go out in cases of "extreme necessity", Saied said in a televised address.
Tunisia has so far reported 54 confirmed cases of the COVID-19 disease and one death.
The North African country has already closed its borders and imposed a curfew from 6:00 pm to 6:00 am (1700-0500 GMT) in an effort to stave off the epidemic sweeping the globe.
Movement between regions has also been banned except for cases with a "legitimate reason", the president said.
Supermarkets will be closed but shops and convenience stores will be supplied, he added. Saied also announced the closure of industrial areas with large numbers of employees.
Jordan will impose a countrywide lockdown from Saturday to combat the coronavirus, barring people from moving except for emergencies, the government said.
The measures will apply from 7:00 am local time on Saturday until further notice, said Amjad Al Adailah, government spokesman. All shops will be closed and authorities will announce on Tuesday the "specific times according to specific procedures" for the population to get supplies, he added.
"Unfortunately, in the past two days, citizens did not respect directives and have been out in the streets and markets. This poses a great danger to their health and safety."
Prime Minister Omar Razzaz had suggested the government would be forced to announce a curfew after many people failed to heed a call by the authorities not to move about except in cases of emergencies.
King Abdullah has enacted an emergency decree giving the government sweeping powers to enforce an army-imposed curfew and other measures.
Jordan’s army sealed off the capital from the rest of the country on Thursday to put its 10 million people on lockdown. The country has 69 confirmed coronavirus cases but authorities are afraid it could spread fast.
Jordan has closed land and sea border crossings with Syria, Iraq, Egypt and Israel, and suspended all incoming and outgoing flights since Tuesday.
Algerians stay off street
Algerian protesters heeded a presidential order over the coronavirus, and the pleas of some of their own leaders, by not staging their weekly demonstration against the ruling elite on Friday for the first time in over a year.
Leading supporters of the protest movement, including imprisoned activist Karim Tabbou, human rights lawyer Mustafa Bouchachi and former minister Abdelaziz Rahabi, had urged the protesters to suspend their marches.
“No marchers today, only policemen, journalists and a couple of passersby,” said a journalist watching for any signs of protesters in the central Algiers streets that have for months been their stronghold.
The only people venturing out were shoppers, as a municipality van equipped with loud speakers and plastered with health notices broadcast advice for citizens to sanitize their homes and common areas in apartment blocks.
"Marching? You have to be completely irresponsible to continue doing that," said Said, a 57-year-old father of five and a regular participant in demonstrations, who was out on what he called a "war supplies" outing.
He called for fellow Algerians "to protect their families and the country from this virus. We'll continue the Hirak differently. We will come up with ideas."
Algeria has closed down schools, cafes, restaurants and public transport in cities and called off all public gatherings, including in mosques.
Millions have marched in Algiers and in other cities to demand the uprooting of a system they see as corrupt. They did not stop protesting even after president Abdelaziz Bouteflika was forced to resign in April 2019.
"Common sense calls for a temporary suspension of marches on the grounds of public health. It's the best way to keep Hirak going while we jointly consider alternatives," lawyer Mustapha Bouchachi wrote on Facebook.
Independent journalist Khaled Drareni, who has been arrested several times for covering demonstrations, has vowed on Twitter: "We will be back stronger than before."
President Abdelmadjid Tebboune on Thursday ordered the security forces to enforce a ban on any public gathering as part of the government’s measures to contain the coronavirus, with 94 cases confirmed in the country so far.
Aqsa mosque shut
In Jerusalem, just a few hundred faithful attended the main weekly prayers at Al-Aqsa mosque compound Friday, compared with the 30,000 who usually attend, as coronavirus prevention measures kept most away.
The Jordanian religious authorities who run the compound closed the mosque itself, leaving worshippers to pray in the plaza outside, while Israel limited access to residents of Jerusalem's Old City, an AFP correspondent reported.
The whole of Israeli-annexed east Jerusalem has been cut off from the rest of the occupied West Bank by an indefinite closure aimed at stemming the spread of the virus and movement within it has been restricted.
The Israeli health ministry said Friday it had confirmed 705 cases of coronavirus, while the Palestinian Authority said it had registered 48 cases in the West Bank.
Second case in Sudan
Sudan confirmed its second case of coronavirus on Friday in the capital Khartoum, as Khartoum state announced a range of measures to prevent the spread of the disease.
The case was a foreign man in his 40s working for an international organisation, and he and his family were receiving the required health care, state news agency SUNA reported.
Khartoum state has decided to ban all mass gatherings including religious celebrations and rallies, as well as to close wedding halls and sports venues and shisha (water pipe) cafes, the agency said.
Sudan announced its first, fatal case of coronavirus a week ago. The country has closed airports and borders to guard against the illness.
Neighboring Egypt on Friday registered 29 new coronavirus cases, the health ministry said in a statement, bringing the total to 285.
The ministry said there was one new fatality, bringing the total number of deaths to eight.
