TUNIS, March 26 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh on Thursday said the total number of COVID-19 cases in Tunisia has risen to 200, including six deaths.
Twenty-seven new cases from the novel coronavirus were reported on Thursday, as well as two more deaths.
During a plenary session of the Assembly of People's Representatives (parliament) devoted to a dialogue with the government on the health situation, Fakhfakh underlined the need to respect general confinement and mandatory quarantine for people arriving from abroad.
"The general confinement was respected, up to 80 percent across the country, ... thanks to the strict application of the law and the sanctions taken against offenders," he said.
Tunisia is in "state of war" against the pandemic, the Tunisian leader said, adding that the government has mobilized 2.5 billion dinars (about 875 million U.S. dollars) in funds fo fight the pandemic.
On Wednesday, Italy granted Tunisia a loan of 50 million euros (54 million U.S. dollars) to help control the spread of the novel coronavirus.
The loan will be used to support Tunisian companies to cope with the impact of the COVID-19 on the socio-economic environment in Tunisia.
