The Tunisian government on Sunday extended lockdown to three another governorates as the situation of the COVID-19 pandemic worsens in the North African country, reported CGTN Africa.
Four of the country’s 24 governorates are currently under general lockdown. The north-central governorate of Kairouan was put under general lockdown on Saturday.
The Tunisian government said it decided to put the three new governorates namely Siliana, Zaghouan, and Bejakn under lockdown as the infection rate in the three places has reached 400 cases out of every 100,000 residents.
The lock down measures in all four governorates became effective on Sunday.
The Tunisian Health Ministry reported 1,775 new COVID-19 cases on Sunday, raising the total number of infections in the North African country to 382,950. The death toll from the virus increased to 14,038, while the total number of recoveries reached 332,962, according to a ministry statement.
In related news, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 5,185,617 as of Sunday noon.
The Africa CDC, the specialized healthcare agency of the African Union, said the death toll stood at 137,253 while 4,607,454 patients across the continent had recovered from the disease.
South Africa, Morocco, Tunisia, Ethiopia, and Egypt are among the African countries with the most number of reported coronavirus cases.
In terms of the caseload, southern Africa is the most affected region, followed by the northern and eastern parts of the continent, while central Africa is the least affected region in the continent, according to the Africa CDC.
WHO regional director for Africa Matshidiso Moeti said 12 million people, which represent less than 1% of Africa’s 1.3 billion population, are fully vaccinated against COVID-19. She said it is urgent that Africa receive more vaccines as soon as possible as the circulation of more contagious variants across the continent is accelerating.
