Tunisia quarantines nearly 1,000 suspected of COVID-19

By Shaimaa Manaai

TUNIS, Tunisia (AA) - The Tunisian Health Ministry said on Wednesday that 996 people are in medical home quarantine over suspicion of being infected with the novel coronavirus.

Health Minister Abdellatif Mekki said in a news conference that the Tunisian authorities examined more than 1,600 Tunisians and foreigners who came from countries contracted the disease.

He added that some 620 walked out of quarantine after having medical tests and observations.

On Monday, the Tunisian Health Ministry said a citizen, who returned from Italy, tested positive for the virus.

The virus, also known as COVID-19, has infected over 88,000 people and claimed over 3,000 lives worldwide so far, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

As part of their efforts to contain the outbreak, many governments closed their borders and suspended land and air services with the worst-affected countries such as Italy and China.

The WHO, which already declared the outbreak an international health emergency, last week upgraded the global risk level to very high.

*Ahmed Asmar contributed to this report from Ankara.