Director-general of Tunisia’s National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases Nissaf Ben Alaya predicted that the spike in novel coronavirus cases in the country will lead to no less than 6,000 deaths by the end of December.
Coronavirus cases have been rising quickly in Tunisia, which had managed to contain the virus earlier this year, and have now reached 70,000 cases and 1,900 deaths in a country of 11.5 million.
The government imposed a night curfew this month and banned travel between cities to slow a second wave of the pandemic.
Ben Alaya said 17 governorates out of 24 witnessed a spike in coronavirus cases at the very high rate of more than 100 infections to every 1,000 people.
She said that it would take two weeks after the implementation of the latest restrictions to determine whether they are effective. She warned against lifting them because that would lead to a rise in infections and deaths.
Health Minister Fawzi al-Mahdi expected that authorities will extend the restrictions past November 15 and until infections begin to drop.
In a bid to slow the rate of new cases, two-thirds of Tunisia’s governorates have reintroduced local or province-wide night- time curfews, including Grand Tunis, made up of four regions which together are home to around a tenth of the population.
In many of these areas, additional prevention measures have been taken, such as closing markets and banning chairs in cafes. Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi has ruled out a return to a full lockdown but has urged people to wear masks in public places.
The government’s Covid-19 committee has warned that unless the spike in cases is curtailed, the country risks being overwhelmed.
