Tunisia Extends Curfew To Curb Spread Of COVID-19

by PH December 23, 2020, 10:54 am

Healthcare workers conduct free PCR checks for Covid-19 on Avenue Habib Bourguiba in Tunis, Tunisia, on Monday, Dec. 21, 2020. Tunisia will receive a first batch of 2 million Pfizer vaccine doses in 2Q 2021, TAP agency reported, citing Hechmi Louzir, director general of Pasteur Institute. Photographer: Amira Karaoud/Bloomberg via Getty Images

Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi announced on Tuesday that the nationwide curfew in Tunisia has been extended to Jan. 15, 2021 to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The curfew is imposed from 8:00 p.m. to 5:00 a.m. next morning local time (1900 GMT to 0400 GMT), Mehdi told a news conference in the capital Tunis.

Madhi announced the decision Tuesday, saying the country has seen an average of 50 virus-related deaths per day over the last quarter of this year. He blamed the infections on growing complacency toward masks and social distancing.

The head of the Pasteur Institute in Tunis, Hachemi Louzir, said that the country has not registered any cases of the new virus variant identified in Britain so far. Tunisia suspended all flights with Britain, South Africa and Australia this week because of new, apparently more contagious virus variants.