Tunisian Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi announced the ban on all gatherings on Saturday evening, October 3, and reiterated the obligation to wear a mask in order to slow the spread of the new coronavirus, which threatens to saturate hospitals.
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"
The figures
[...]
are not reassuring and the epidemiological situation requires firmness and urgent solutions
", he declared on television.
All cultural, commercial, public or private events are prohibited for the next two weeks.
The administrations will work in shifts in order to limit the congestion of transport while allowing "
the forces of production to continue their work
", he added.
Hichem Mechichi, however, ruled out any general confinement because the country "
no longer has the capacity to withstand it
".
He left it to the regional authorities to decree local confinements or the closure of places of worship depending on the epidemiological situation.
A curfew was imposed Thursday, October 1 in the coastal regions of Sousse and Monastir as well as in certain areas around Sidi Bouzid, in the interior of the country, with the suspension of weekly markets.
The wearing of the mask imposed in early August has long remained a dead letter, for the general public as well as for certain officials, and many Tunisians are calling for a stricter strategy.
Tunisian authorities have warned that hospitals are struggling to cope with the influx of patients.
Tunisia, which has more than 11.5 million inhabitants, had almost contained the pandemic at the end of June with a thousand cases and fifty deaths, and lifted most restrictions during the summer.
But the number of confirmed cases now exceeds 20,000, including nearly 300 deaths.