Tunisians protest over slow pace of Covid-19 vaccination

The latest official data shows that Tunisia has recorded 321,837 coronavirus cases to date. Of these, 279,634 people have recovered, but 11,468 have died.

JOHANNESBURG, May 11 (ANA) – Tunisian citizens protested at a Covid-19 vaccination centre in Sfax against the slow pace of the inoculation process, news agency Tunis Afrique Presse (TAP) reported.

In its story dated Monday, it said this happened while Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi was at the centre on an inspection tour.

According to TAP, citizens described the situation as catastrophic as people were coming in large numbers to try and get the vaccination, without observing the basic Covid-19 protocols.

They urged the minister to review the process by which the vaccine was being issued to people registered on the system.

The news agency said Mehdi called for the mobilisation of more medical personnel to support the efforts of teams already on site and help improve the vaccination process.

A second centre in Chott El Krakna was expected to provide about 2,000 vaccinations a day, TAP reported.

Meanwhile, ANSAmed reported on Monday that Tunisians had violated the country’s latest Covid-19 curfew on the first night.

It said police had to step in to enforce the closure of shops between Sunday and Monday in various areas including El Kef, Gafsa and Cité Etthadamen, a well-known suburb of the capital Tunis.

According to ANSAmed, the curfew will be in place until May 16 and coincides with the festival of Eid al-Fitr — which this year will be celebrated on May 13, marking the end of Ramadan fasting.

The latest official data shows that Tunisia has recorded 321,837 coronavirus cases to date. Of these, 279,634 people have recovered, while 11,468 have died.

– African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Stella Mapenzauswa