Sharjah24 – AFP: Tunisia on Sunday started a week of coronavirus restrictions covering the Eid holiday, as hospitals battle to stay afloat as Covid-19 cases soar.
Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi said Friday that Tunisia was going through "the worst health crisis in its history" and that health facilities were at risk of collapse.
Until next Sunday, mosques, markets and non-essential shops must close, gatherings and family or cultural celebrations are banned, and people are forbidden from travelling between regions.
An overnight curfew begins at 7:00 pm (1800 GMT) instead of 10 pm, and is in force until 5 am.
Schools have been closed since mid-April.
Tunisia, a country of almost 12 million, has officially recorded more than 319,000 coronavirus cases and 11,350 deaths.
Over 500 people are currently in intensive care, a level previously unseen in the North African country.
The country has set up field hospitals to deal with the influx of patients.
It is also struggling to meet its oxygen needs, and has appealed for assistance from European countries and even neighbouring Algeria, struggling with its own health crisis.
A vaccination campaign launched in mid-March, a month later than planned, is moving more slowly than anticipated.
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