Several Western and Arab countries sent huge shipments of medical equipment and thousands of doses of COVID-19 vaccines to help Tunisia fight the spread of the virus.
Qatar sent a military plane with a field hospital on board.
Tunisia also received 250,000 doses of the vaccine from Algeria, 500,000 doses from the UAE, 1 million doses from Saudi Arabia, and 50,000 from Turkey.
Egypt, France, Italy, China and Russia also pledged to give aid.
The north African country has recorded its highest daily death toll since the pandemic began, putting its health care system under unprecedented pressure and depleting oxygen supplies.
This came as spokeswoman of health ministry Nissaf Ben Alaya declared Tunisia’s health care system is collapsing due to the coronavirus.
Ben Alaya also announced that intensive care departments
are full and doctors overburdened by a rapid outbreak of cases and deaths.
“We are in a catastrophic situation … the health system has collapsed, we can only find a bed in hospitals with great difficulty,” health ministry spokesperson Nissaf Ben Alaya said.
“We are struggling to provide oxygen … doctors are suffering from unprecedented fatigue,” she said. “The boat is sinking.”
The country of 12 million people has suffered so far 465,000 cases
and 15,735 deaths.
The Tunisian army has been deployed to enforce a new lockdown in some areas, in an attempt to stop the virus spread.
Under new rules, travel will be banned between regions, gatherings and celebrations prohibited, and a 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew imposed.
Tunisians are encouraged to leave their homes only for what is strictly necessary, government spokeswoman Hasna Ben Slimane said.
