TUNIS, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- Tunisian Minister of Health Faouzi Mehdi announced on Wednesday that Tunisia will be among the first countries to receive the doses of vaccine against COVID-19.
"Tunisia has coordinated with the World Health Organization and donors and has mobilized the necessary funds to receive the vaccine against the coronavirus as soon as it will be placed on the market," Mehdi said during a press conference held in capital Tunis.
According to the minister, "the epidemiological situation in the country is currently critical and all measures taken to contain the pandemic should be rigorously applied."
Tunisian Health Ministry on Tuesday announced that 1,723 new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed on Oct. 19, raising the tally of infections to 44,450 in the North African country.
The death toll from the virus rose by 24 to 711, the ministry said in a statement.
"The ministry recorded 1,020 hospitalized COVID-19 patients, including 166 in intensive care units and 95 others are mechanically ventilated," it added.
Amid the rapid spread of COVID-19, Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi ordered a curfew in all 24 provinces of the country starting Tuesday. Enditem
