Tunisia begins, Sunday, May 9, a week of total containment, encompassing Eid al-Fitr, the Muslim holiday celebrating the end of Ramadan, while the country is hit by a third wave of particularly virulent Covid-19 and that hospitals are saturated.

Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi warned on Friday that the health system threatened to "collapse" due to the growing influx of patients into hospitals.

The Tunisian authorities have therefore established a strict containment, from May 9 to 16, which coincides with the end of the fasting month of Ramadan and the feast of Eid al-Fitr, expected this year on May 13, when residents are traditionally meet with family or friends.

All stores were closed on Sunday on Avenue Habib Bourguiba, the main artery of the Tunisian capital, as well as in its Old Town, where tourist shops are concentrated.

A Tunisian man on a bicycle in the desert souk of Tunis, at the start of a general lockdown imposed by the authorities, May 9, 2021. © Fethi Belaid, AFP

Security forces have tightened traffic control in Tunis.

But videos shared on social networks showed near-normal activity in several regions of the interior of the country, where people circulated without masks or physical distancing.

A Tunisian police officer checks vehicles in the capital Tunis on May 9, 202, as part of a general confinement imposed by the authorities.

© Fethi Belaid, AFP

Family or cultural gatherings and celebrations are prohibited and the curfew has been brought forward to 7 p.m. instead of 10 p.m. previously, still until 5 a.m.

Mosques, markets and non-essential businesses must remain closed and movement from one region to another is prohibited.

Schools have been closed since mid-April.

"The worst health crisis in its history"

Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi estimated on Friday that the country was going through "the worst health crisis in its history", stressing that "the health establishments threatened to collapse".

More than 500 people are currently hospitalized in intensive care, an unprecedented level that has required the establishment of field hospitals, and Tunisia is struggling to meet its oxygen needs.

The North African country is struggling to meet the demand for oxygen and health officials have warned of a risk of shortages.

The country of nearly 12 million inhabitants has recorded more than 300,000 cases of Covid-19, including 11,350 deaths.

Alarming figures which rank it among the world's worst scores of deaths due to the coronavirus, reported to the population.

With AFP

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