Photo: John S. on Flickr
September 28, 2020: 98% of travel agencies on the verge of bankruptcy by October
In Tunisia, COVID-19 could make 98% of the 1,300 travel agencies disappear. Their federation the FTAV calls for the intervention of the State, for the urgent implementation of the announced line of credit of $180 million, and also for the postponement of bank loans and related charges. The alert is issued by the Tunisian Federation of Travel Agencies (FTAV) whose sector is suffering the full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. According to its president, Jabeur Ben Attouch, Tunisia risks a collapse of this sector which has more than 1,300 travel agencies and nearly 20,000 direct and indirect jobs. According to him, 28% of workers have already been laid off since the beginning of the health crisis at the end of March. For him, the government must respect its commitments while the treasuries of the travel agencies are experiencing a severe liquidity crisis. These include the establishment of a line of credit of 500 million dinars ($180 million USD) to enable hotels and tourist establishments affected by the COVID-19 pandemic to pay the salaries of their employees. However, to date, “no credit has been granted to any of our agencies”, he regrets, pleading moreover for a reassessment of the selection criteria, so that this will benefit a maximum of companies. Only 268 agencies have been declared eligible for credit on the platform set up by the government. The FTAV now finds that its members are unable to honor their commitments to leasing companies. It also calls on the State to intervene with the banks to postpone the leasing due dates, but also various charges (bank credits, social security contributions, taxes …). And this, until December 2021.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 27, 2020: New measures to control the spread of Coronavirus
The Ministries of Health, Interior and Local Affairs announced on Sunday, in a joint communiqué, a series of measures to control the spread of the Coronavirus and to avoid exceeding the capacity of the national hospital system.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 26, 2020: The head of government rules out a general reconfinement and raises the possibility of closing some hot spots
The Head of Government, Hichem Mechichi, on Saturday ruled out a general reconfinement, justifying this decision by the evolution of the management of the Coronavirus pandemic, which requires coexistence with this virus, provided that a series of preventive measures are applied. Visiting the tourism unit of Beni M’tir under the governorate of Jendouba, Mechichi considered that the economic and social situation that the country is going through does not tolerate a return to a general containment, affirming that the current epidemiological situation does not require a return to containment, but rather a possible closure of some hot spots. In this sense, he said that the government is “assessing the situation and taking the necessary measures to limit the spread of the virus by providing more intensive care beds, increasing the number of tests and continuing the effort to raise awareness about the importance of prevention measures. In a statement to the TAP, Mechichi stressed that “a return to general containment is not feasible at this time”, but that the reflection is focused instead on the possibility of closing some hot spots, where hundreds of cases of contamination have been recorded, according to the results of the periodic evaluation carried out by the state bodies. During his visit, the Head of Government, who was accompanied by the Ministers of Tourism and Health as well as a number of executives and representatives of organizations in the region, pledged to allocate an envelope of 3 million dinars to the owner of the Beni M’tir hospital station project, because of the financial difficulties encountered by the latter and which had blocked the completion of the project. Mechihci said in this regard, that “such projects enshrine the idea of public-private partnership,” noting that its success will be used to generalize this partnership to other similar projects facing financial difficulties. He stressed the importance of this project which contributes to solidarity development and socio-economic dynamism in a region rich in exploitable tourist potential, far from the administrative bureaucracy that hinders economic activity and production,” he said.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 24th, 2020: Epidemiological situation of the COVID-19 pandemic in Beja
The Director of Basic Health at the Regional Health Directorate in Beja, Néji Atouani announced that the region recorded on Wednesday 8 new infections out of 22 samples analyzed, a rate of infection of 30%. In a statement Thursday to the correspondent of Tunisienumérique, he said that since the beginning of the pandemic last February 1753 people whose cases of contact with patients have been subjected to containment. Among them 350 are still. He assured that only 85 infections have been recorded in the governorate including 18 imported cases. The director of basic health in Beja said that 95% of infections have been recorded since the opening of borders on June 17, stating that 40 cases are still active, while three deaths have been recorded. He said that the pandemic is currently experiencing a peak of contamination, calling on citizens to observe the prevention provisions relating to barrier measures with social and physical distancing, wearing masks, washing hands or using hydroalcoholic gel.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 23, 2020: The epidemic is accelerating, the peak has not yet been reached!
Multiplication of the number of contaminations and deaths from coronavirus, overloaded hospitals, angry medical staff, the report is irrevocable in Tunisia. The health situation is critical, despite the reassuring messages from the authorities. In a statement to the newspaper Al Maghreb, the Minister of Health Faouzi Mahdi said in this sense that the peak of contamination by the coronavirus has not yet been reached in Tunisia. Faced with this finding, the minister said that it is currently essential to strengthen the capacity of the state to cope with the peak, whose date is unknown. Indeed, for him, the challenge is to strengthen the capacity of Tunisia in resuscitation beds and respiratory assistance, as well as increasing the number of private and public labs conducting PCR tests. Just for the day of this Tuesday, September 22, nine people contaminated by the coronavirus died following the deterioration of their health. The Health Department decided to transform the new hospital of Sfax into a COVID-19 center. This university hospital, whose work was completed a few months ago, has not yet entered into service. Faced with the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, and in view of the absence of any strategy to fight the pandemic, the national union of Tunisian nurses is announcing a two-day general strike on September 30 and October 1 in all hospital establishments. The Ministry of Health announced in a press release issued on Tuesday, September 22, that as of September 20, 528 new coronaviruses had been registered. 5 new deaths have also been recorded, it was announced.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 22, 2020: Head of Government rules out any reconfinement scenario
The Tunisian Head of Government, Hichem Mechichi, ruled out any reconfinement scenario at this time, announcing additional measures to stop the spread of the new coronavirus pandemic. “A return to the situation of last March is an unthinkable scenario,” he told the media on Monday on the sidelines of the annual conference of heads of permanent diplomatic and consular missions. On this occasion, the official stressed the need to respect the health protocol already in place to contain the spread of the epidemic, citing the mandatory wearing of masks, the use of hydroalcoholic gel and respect for social distancing. In this regard, he said he asked the department of the Ministry of Interior to intensify awareness campaigns to encourage the wearing of masks in enclosed spaces, means of transport and places where large gatherings are held. In addition, Mr. Mechichi reported, during a meeting with the Tunisian Minister of Interior and senior security officials, the decision to intensify health safety campaigns to impose the use of means of prevention against coronavirus.
These include, in particular, the mandatory wearing of masks in public spaces, places of assembly, means and stations of transport, the surroundings of educational institutions and higher education and all spaces welcoming citizens. He also ordered the public administrations to prohibit access to any citizen not wearing the mask, insisting on the imperative to provide more means of prevention of the COVID-19, reads a communiqué of the presidency of the government. Mechichi, in this context, stressed the importance of giving the highest priority to the officials of the Ministry of Health and Security Institution, who are “the soldiers on the front line in the face of this pandemic”. Tunisia has recorded, since the opening of borders on June 27, a growing increase in the number of cases of contamination by the coronavirus. According to the latest update (September 18 and 19), 996 cases and 4 deaths have been recorded, bringing to 10,732 the number of contaminations by the virus and 159 deaths since March 2020.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
September 22, 2020: The new hospital of Sfax transformed into COVID-19 center
Tunisia is in a race against time, given the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, to strengthen its capacity in COVID-19 units. It is in this context that Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi announced on Tuesday, September 22nd that his department has decided to transform the new hospital in Sfax into a COVID-19 center. This university hospital, whose work was completed a few months ago, has not yet entered into service. He said in this sense that this decision will strengthen the capacity of Tunisia to cope with the increase in cases of people admitted to hospitals. Referring to the screening of the virus, he explained that currently 30 laboratories are conducting tests against the coronavirus. Faced with the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, and in view of the absence of any strategy to fight the pandemic, the national union of Tunisian nurses announces a two-day general strike on September 30 and October 1 in all hospitals. The union accuses the authorities of neglecting to protect healthcare personnel, despite its many appeals to protect healthcare employees. The Ministry of Health announced in a press release issued on Tuesday, September 22, that as of September 20, 528 new coronavirus cases have been registered. 5 new deaths have also been recorded, it was announced. These cases were detected after the development of 2593 screening tests, while the total number of contaminations reached 11260, including 8719 active cases.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
