New strain of coronavirus of still unidentified origin discovered in Tunisia

To assess the possible danger of this variant, a follow-up of the patients, currently seven in number, and the governorate’s health situation where it was detected is necessary, estimates a doctor.

The Tunisian Minister of Health, Faouzi Mehdi, confirmed on April 23 the discovery of a new strain of the coronavirus which is neither Brazilian, nor South African, nor British, informs Al-Arabiya.

What dangers does it take? As the doctor Amin Fawzi Salim explains at the microphone of the radio Mosaïque FM, the answer can only be given after the observation of the infected patients and the epidemiological situation in the governorate of Manouba.

So far, the mutated virus has been detected in seven citizens—one more reason to recall the need to activate the vaccination campaign.

Towards new restrictions?

Given the health situation in the country, the spokesperson for the Scientific Committee in charge of the fight against the new coronavirus, Jalila Ben Khelil, confirmed to Al-Arabiya that today or over the next two days, the body in question would meet to assess the state of affairs and consider new measures, such as the possibility of closing the country’s borders and full lockdown in northern Tunisia.

More than 10,000 dead since the start of the pandemic

According to official data from the Tunisian Ministry of Health, since the start of the pandemic, 294,138 cases of contamination have been recorded in the country. The virus has also claimed more than 10,000 lives.

The vaccination campaign started in Tunisia in mid-March. The country has Sputnik V, Pfizer-BioNTech, AstraZeneca, and Sinopharm vaccines.