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The Tunisian health system has “collapsed” under the weight of the Covid-19 pandemic, the spokesperson for the Ministry of Health said on Thursday, calling the impact of the virus on the country “catastrophic”.
As of Tuesday alone, Tunisia recorded 9,823 cases and 134 deaths, its worst daily toll from the virus.
Hospitals in the North African country have seen a large influx of patients over the past two weeks.
The country of about 12 million people has suffered nearly 465,000 cases and 15,735 deaths.
“The current health situation is catastrophic,” spokeswoman Nissaf Ben Alya said in an interview with a local radio station.
“The number of cases has increased dramatically. Unfortunately, the health care system has collapsed,” she said.
Ben Alya said hospitals are overwhelmed and it is difficult to find available beds and oxygen supplies.
“The health situation will worsen if efforts are not united,” she added.
Some bodies of Covid victims remained lying in rooms next to other patients for up to 24 hours, as there were not enough staff to organize their transfer to overcrowded morgues.
The Health Ministry’s Facebook page said the special field hospitals set up in recent months were no longer enough.
Since June 20, authorities have imposed a total lockdown in six regions of Tunisia, including Kairouan, as the number of Covid cases skyrocketed.
The capital Tunis has been placed under partial lockdown since last week, with weekend closures from July 10 to avoid overcrowding on the beaches.
Across Tunisia, only four percent of the population received the two full doses of the vaccine.
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