Photo: John S. on Flickr
October 20, 2020: A heavy death toll in two days in Tunisia
The new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) seems to continue its progression in Tunisia. Between 17 and 18 October 2020, 2185 new contaminations were detected out of 5689 medical tests, a contamination rate of 38.4%. This is what emerges from the latest epidemiological report published by the Ministry of Health (updated on October 18 at 20h).
In two days, 61 new deaths were recorded, bringing the total number of deaths related to COVID-19 to 687 since February 2020 (peace to their souls). Thus, according to the same source, there are 5.80 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. On the other hand, the Department of Health indicates that 173 patients are in intensive care (+15) and 103 others are on respiratory equipment (+26).
The total number of contaminations, recorded since February 2020, thus reaches 42,727 out of 303,202 medical analyses (overall contamination rate of 14.1%). There are also 360.5 contaminations per 100,000 inhabitants.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 20, 2020:Curfew on the entire Tunisian territory
The number of confirmed positive COVID-19 cases in Tunisia is now about 43 thousand cases out of a total of 304 thousand screenings performed since the beginning of the pandemic. According to a policy of stages, as of today, Tuesday, October 20, the entire country is now under night curfew, on the instructions of the head of government Hichem Mechichi. At a time when the authorities are pleased to be ahead of some Western countries, including France, in the application of this measure in major cities, the outcome of October 17 and 18 has apparently contributed to precipitate the government’s decision to generalize the curfew throughout Tunisia. Thus 2,185 people have been confirmed as carriers of the virus, out of 5,689 tests conducted during these 48 hours. In addition, 978 cases are being treated in hospitals, 173 of which are admitted to intensive care and 103 people are placed on respirators. At this time, there have been 687 deaths (+61 deaths) as a result of the pandemic. It is in this context that the head of government has asked all governors to establish a curfew from Tuesday, October 20, 2020, says a statement. A phase that follows the one where the measure was hitherto left to their discretion. The decision follows a meeting of Mechichi yesterday Monday at the Kasbah Palace with the Interior Minister and senior security officials.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 19, 2020: Tunisia among the first countries to benefit from the vaccine according to the Minister of Health
Once a vaccine against the new coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2 or COVID-19) is developed, a rush is likely to occur. Will the distribution be equitable for all countries in the world? Or will those who pay the most be the first to be served? Either way, Tunisia appears to be among the top three countries that will get the vaccine, at least according to Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi. “We will ensure the necessary availability of the vaccine. Tunisia has already considered funding to do so,” he said. It should be recalled that our country is on the list of 10 countries that will benefit from support from the WB (World Bank) for the acquisition of the valuable vaccine. It is, in fact, a US$12 billion assistance plan. According to the WB, the objective is to help developing countries finance the acquisition of vaccines against COVID-19.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 17, 2020: Governors of the Grand Tunis examine the situation of cafes and restaurants
The Governors of the Grand Tunis are holding a meeting today, October 17, to consider the request of owners of restaurants and cafes, who propose to be able to use 50% of their tables and chairs. A measure taken as part of the fight against the pandemic.
As a reminder, the National Chamber of Coffee Shop Owners under the UTICA has requested the outright cancellation of the measure decided by the governors, namely the ban on the use of chairs and tables in cafes and restaurants. The Chamber proposed another alternative, namely the strict application of the sanitary protocol and the use of chairs and tables up to 50%. As a reminder, the four governorates of Grand Tunis announced a range of preventive measures against COVID-19 like the night curfew.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 16, 2020: In the private sector, care is charged 45 thousand dinars per patient!
In times of health crisis, the Tunisian seems to be stuck between a rock and a hard place. While the resuscitation departments of hospitals are virtually overwhelmed, the costs of treating this disease in clinics are unaffordable. Indeed, according to Faouzi Charfi, Secretary General of the Union of Liberal Specialist Doctors (UMSL), who intervened on Al Watania, the costs of treatment of COVID-19 disease would cost at least 45 thousand dinars per patient in private clinics. Doing the calculation, he said that for clinics, one day of resuscitation costs an average of 3 thousand dinars, so that a fortnight of treatment and resuscitation will be charged more than 45 thousand dinars. “This is unaffordable for Tunisians,” he insisted. He called in this sense the presidency of the government to cover the costs of hospitalization of patients even in private clinics, because according to him, in times of crisis, the state must intervene to protect its citizens.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 15, 2020: Creation of a listening and psychological support unit for children in schools.
A unit for listening and psychological supervision of children in schools has just been created under Article 11 of Government Decree No. 781 of 2020, dated October 14, 2020, published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette of the Republic of Tunisia.Article 9 relating to the definition of specific measures of prevention and screening and to the limitation of the spread of COVID-19, stipulates that when a confirmed contamination is recorded, individually or collectively, in children, young people or adults in schools, universities or vocational training centers, it is imperative to apply the procedures provided for in the sanitary protocol elaborated for this purpose and published on the official site of the Ministry of Health, and this in close coordination between the management of the establishment concerned and the regional health directorate. The supervisory authority makes the decision to close the space or place concerned, if massive cases of infection are recorded, after a field investigation conducted by the health authority and a risk assessment. It should be noted that the number of coronavirus infections in schools since the beginning of the school year and up to October 13, 2010, has reached 1,064 cases, including 478 students, 457 teachers, 97 supervisors and 32 workers. These contaminations have been recorded in 540 educational institutions across the country, according to the periodic assessment of the Ministry of Education on the health situation published on its official Facebook page.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 14, 2020: 20% of Tunisians think the health crisis is surmountable
What is the current epidemiological situation today? Nissaf Ben Alaya, Director General of the National Observatory of New and Emerging Diseases, pointed out at a press conference held in Tunis that the death toll in Tunisia has risen to 537 with 25 additional deaths recorded between 12 and 13 October. She also added that 18% of those who died were over 75 years old. And that 6% of them were between 65 and 75 years old”. In addition, she also stressed the importance of wearing a mask and respecting barrier gestures. Informing that a mobile laboratory has already been installed for more than a week in Sidi Bouzid. And this, in order to strengthen the capacity of laboratories in the Central region. Moreover, according to a study conducted by the Ministry of Health, 20% of Tunisians do not consider the pandemic as a “serious problem”. The Director General of Health, Faisal Ben Salah, confirmed that a study conducted by the Ministry of Health has shown the evolution of Tunisians wearing masks. And this, compared to the months of September and October. In addition, he said at the periodic meeting of the Ministry of Health on the epidemiological situation in the country that the study showed that the wearing of masks during the month of October has quadrupled compared to September. It should be remembered that the number of cases of contaminations from last February to October 12 amounts to 34,790 cases.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 13, 2020: Tunisia should receive more than 2.7 million doses of coronavirus vaccine
Dr. Amel Ben Said, Director of Basic Health at the Ministry of Health, announced on Tuesday, October 13, 2020, that Tunisia should receive a first batch of 360 thousand doses of coronavirus vaccine from the World Health Organization (WHO) when it is ready. Tunisia will benefit from a second batch of 2.4 million doses in a second stage, she added on the radio Mosaique fm, adding that these 2,760,000 doses of vaccine will be granted to Tunisia within the framework of the mechanism set up by the WHO for global access to vaccines against COVID-19, the Covax alliance in which 172 countries participate. This mechanism, launched by WHO, consists in collaborating with vaccine manufacturers to ensure equitable access to vaccines for countries around the world. It is a global initiative that works with governments and manufacturers to make vaccines against COVID-19 available worldwide to both high- and low-income countries. Dr Amel Ben Said added that in Tunisia, the first batch of vaccines will be given, as a priority, to groups of people who are essential to the smooth running of the country’s machinery without specifying which categories they are!
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 12, 2020: Tunisia would like to obtain quickly as soon as a vaccine against coronavirus has been found
The director of the Pasteur Institute of Tunis, Hechmi Louzir, said on Monday, October 12, that the Scientific Committee for the fight against coronavirus is currently in discussions with the World Health Organization (WHO) to obtain the vaccine against coronavirus as soon as its effectiveness is demonstrated. Louzir said that the working team in charge of monitoring research on the development of a vaccine against COVID-19 within the Scientific Committee is in constant contact with the global COVAX initiative, launched by WHO and involving 92 low- and middle-income countries, adding that this initiative aims to enable member countries to benefit from a vaccine against COVID-19 as soon as its efficacy is proven during the third and final phase of clinical trials. He said that 11 global vaccines have reached the third stage of clinical trials and that four more vaccines may be developed in the coming weeks, estimating that research in this area has been completed in record time since the development of a vaccine against any disease takes at least four or five years. The director of Institut Pasteur said that experts from the Ministry of Health have been tasked to identify priority categories to receive the Coronavirus vaccine. According to WHO, COVAX’s goal is to provide, by the end of 2021, 2 billion doses of safe and effective vaccines that have been licensed by regulatory agencies and/or prequalified by WHO. These vaccines will be offered equally to all participating countries, in quantities proportionate to their populations, initially giving priority to health workers and then expanding their distribution to vulnerable groups, such as the elderly and people with pre-existing diseases. Further doses will then be made available according to country needs, vulnerabilities and the threat posed by COVID-19. The COVAX Mechanism will also, according to the same source, constitute a stockpile of doses to be used for emergency and humanitarian purposes, including to stop serious outbreaks before they get out of control.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 10, 2020: A large quantity of rapid tests will be distributed next week.
The Head of Government, Hichem Mechichi said at a press briefing held after his visit to the operations room of the National Coronavirus Control Authority at the National Guard Barracks in El Aouina that a large quantity of rapid tests will be distributed over the next week to increase the capacity to perform analyses in public and private laboratories and to support COVID-19 testing efforts. These tests, he said, will help reduce the pressure on public laboratories that will continue to perform PCR tests for the diagnosis and screening of COVID-19 infection. On the other hand, the head of government said he has called for an investigation of private testing laboratories. He indicated that the Ministry of Health has made several inspection visits to these laboratories to monitor their activity and to take legal action against violators following an increase in complaints about the high cost of testing performed by some private laboratories. The Head of Government met on Saturday online with the Ministers of Defense, Interior, Health, Education, Higher Education and Scientific Research, Local Affairs and Environment as well as 24 governors to discuss the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the country.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 09, 2020: Security forces will ensure the application of control measures
On the first day of the curfew in Greater Tunis, the Ministry of the Interior on Thursday called on citizens to strictly respect travel restrictions, assuring that “the security forces will ensure the application of control measures”. “These new restrictions aim to limit the outbreak of contamination by the coronavirus pandemic,” explained the Department of Interior in a statement. Police roadblocks have been deployed in the cities and on the roads of the affected regions to monitor movements subject to special authorizations.
“Citizens are invited to stay in their homes until further notice, except in cases of extreme emergency,” the ministry said. Excluded from these travel restrictions are urgent humanitarian cases, those working at night, supply services and wholesale markets”. According to the Interior Ministry, curfew does not apply to public and private institutions open at night, the media, transportation and supply services, bakeries, and others whose employees require permits. A curfew was introduced from this Thursday, October 8 in the Grand Tunis for fifteen days, in an attempt to stem the spread of the epidemic COVID-19. For fifteen days, traffic will be banned from 9 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekdays and from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. on weekends, said the governor of Tunis, Chedly Bouallègue. According to the same source, the weekly souks in the Grand Tunis will be closed, and Friday prayer suspended.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
