Tunisia relaxes curfew as virus outbreak slows

Tunisia shortened its nightly curfew on Wednesday after three consecutive days without recording any new coronavirus cases and as the government relaxes a general lockdown.

The North African democracy imposed the curfew in March, aiming to slow the spread of the virus by keeping people at home, combined with a lockdown that shuttered all but key shops and services.

President Kais Saied has cut the curfew hours to 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. instead of 8 p.m. to 6 a.m., state news agency TAP reported, 10 days after the start of a gradual reopening of the bureaucracy and economy.

It follows the government’s announcement that no new coronavirus cases have been recorded for three days in a row, with 1,032 confirmed cases in total and 45 deaths.

Only five patients with COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, are still in hospital in Tunisia, Jalila Ben Kelil, a member of the government’s advisory committee on the coronavirus crisis, said, attributing the country’s success in controlling the outbreak to fast, aggressive public health measures.

Read more via Reuters