Corona .. Tunisia acknowledges the collapse of its health system and fears of the European Cup final and the Tokyo Olympics without an audience

Today, Thursday, Japan announced the third health emergency in the country since the outbreak of the pandemic, and the organization of the Tokyo Olympics without an audience as a precautionary measure, and European officials expressed their fears that thousands of fans would gather to attend the European Cup final, which will be held next Sunday in London.

The Tunisian Ministry of Health said today that the country's health system has collapsed, with intensive care departments full, doctors exhausted, and the rapid spread of the Corona pandemic.

"We are in a catastrophic situation, the health system has collapsed, you can only find a bed with great difficulty, we are struggling to provide oxygen, doctors are suffering from unprecedented fatigue," Tunisian Health Ministry spokeswoman Nissaf Ben Ali told a local radio in Tunis.

"The boat is sinking," she added, calling on everyone to unite efforts.

Tunisia recorded nearly 10,000 new infections with the Corona virus and 134 deaths yesterday, Wednesday, in a record daily increase since the beginning of the pandemic, with growing fears that the state will not be able to control the outbreak.

After it succeeded in containing the first epidemic wave last year, the Tunisian authorities are currently facing difficulty in dealing with the increase in infections, and imposed a comprehensive quarantine in some cities since last week, but it refused to impose general isolation at the national level due to the living and economic difficulties.

In a related context, the Qatari ambassador to Tunisia, Saad Nasser Al-Hamidi, said today that his country will send medical aid to Tunisia, including a field hospital with a capacity of 200 beds and 100 respirators, to combat the Corona virus.

The Qatari ambassador's statement came after his meeting with Tunisian Prime Minister Hisham Mchichi, according to a statement by the Presidency of the Government.

European Cup Final

On the other hand, Agence France-Presse reported that many European officials have expressed concern about the final match of the European Cup, which will be held at Wembley Stadium in London next Sunday between Italy and England.

The final is likely to be "the largest gathering of a sporting event in more than 15 months in the UK", according to the British government, while the number of Covid-19 cases due to the mutated strain "Delta" is rising, reaching 30,000 cases per day this week in Britain.

The number of viewers - which rose during the European Cup semi-final - reached nearly 65,000, according to the European Football Association, which is the organizer of the event.

The night the English forgot... #Corona#England_Italy #European NationsCup #England_Denmark #European NationsCup #Euro2020 #EURO2020 pic.twitter.com/HMcNztuwf7

— Adel Ali Bin Ali (@AdelAliBinAli) July 8, 2021

A study published its results today, Thursday, showed that HIV infections in England increased fourfold in one month since early last June, before Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to fully reopen the economy on July 19, although expectations indicate that High number of injuries.

The French health authorities had detected 9 people infected with the mutated strain Delta in the eastern Vogue region, and they were among the fans returning from Hungary, where they attended the Portugal-France match in the European Football Cup.

European leaders worried

Last Friday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed her concern about the number of spectators allowed to attend the European Cup finals in the United Kingdom, as Corona injuries increased significantly due to the highly contagious mutated strain Delta.

According to the British government, more than 60,000 spectators will be allowed to attend Wembley Stadium instead of 40,000 as was previously planned in this stadium, which has a maximum capacity of 90,000 people.

"I really wonder if this is exaggerated," the German chancellor added during a joint press conference with the British Prime Minister, referring to the number of fans allowed to attend the final match at Wembley.

In addition to Merkel, Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas also expressed their concerns.

One of the facilities that will host the Tokyo Olympics in two weeks, in light of exceptional measures to confront Corona (Getty)

emergency in japan

In Japan, Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga declared the third health emergency in the country since the outbreak of the Corona pandemic, and his decision comes after the number of HIV infections in the capital exceeded 900 daily.

Suga pointed out that the mutated Delta strain of the virus is spreading rapidly in Japan, and it is considered more toxic and dangerous than other strains.

The state of emergency will last until August 22, which means that it will cover the period of holding the Tokyo Olympics, which are scheduled to open in two weeks.

The Minister of Olympics in Japan, Marukawa Tamayo, said today that the Tokyo Olympics will be held without an audience due to the Corona epidemic, and the decision came after a meeting within the organizing committee of the Olympic event, the governor of Tokyo, the Japanese government and the International Olympic Committee.

The President of the International Olympic Committee, Thomas Bach, expressed his full support for the efforts of the Japanese authorities for the safe organization of the Olympics.

The Tokyo Summer Olympics is scheduled to open on July 23, after its scheduled date for the summer of 2020 was postponed due to the global health crisis caused by the Corona pandemic.