Tunisian authorities are announcing general confinement from May 9 to 16 to “avoid the total collapse of the health system”.
“This decision was taken in order to avoid the total collapse of the health system in Tunisia, whose medical profession is completely overwhelmed”, declared the head of government Hichem Mechichi , during a press conference. The entry into force of the general confinement will begin on May 9 from midnight and will end on May 16, 2021 at 5 a.m. “During this period of confinement, it was decided to ban the circulation of vehicles from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m., to ban travel between the governorates, the ban on gatherings and other festivities, the closure of weekly markets and shopping centers”, explains Webdo.
Numbers in red
The country has recorded more than 300,000 cases of coronavirus , including more than 11,200 deaths, out of a population of twelve million. Health professionals keep ringing the alarm bells on the saturation of certain services, resuscitation beds being more than 80% occupied. Another concern: risk of oxygen shortage in the face of the influx of patients in hospitals. The authorities came to the conclusion that the curfew was no longer sufficient to contain the pandemic. They are now betting on mass vaccination.
As of March 6, 2021: more than 4,500,000 cases of # COVID19 in Africa – with more than 4,100,000 associated recoveries and 123,000 deaths reported.
Economy at half mast
After years of economic gloom and short-term management, the Covid-19 pandemic has brought Tunisia to its knees: its external debt has reached the symbolic mark of 100 billion dinars (around 30 billion euros), or 100 % of Gross Domestic Product. The country must repay some 4.5 billion euros over the current year and thus needs an extension of 5.7 billion euros to complete its 2021 budget, in the midst of the economic and social crisis, the GDP has declined in 2020 like never before (-8.9%). Heavily in debt, Tunisia turns to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for the fourth time in a decade, hoping for a three-year agreement and obtaining 3.3 billion euros by 2021, in return for promises of reforms even more difficult to keep than before.
