With the start of the school year and the end of the single session, the improvement of the health situation in Tunisia is questioned. Indeed, congestion in public spaces and in public transport is a factor of contagion, hence the concern of parents that their children will catch the virus.
That is why, despite the progress of the vaccination campaign that has affected almost all ages and all categories and a relatively satisfactory balance sheet, the fear of a new wave haunts the spirits. Especially since herd immunity has not yet been achieved.
More than 26.64% of Tunisians fully vaccinated
According to the daily report of the Ministry of Health, published on September 18 on its Facebook page, more than 3 million Tunisians have been fully vaccinated until September 17, 2021: about 2.5 million received two doses, almost 324 thousand received the first dose (depending on the nature of the vaccine) and more than 402 thousand received a single dose, also, since they have been affected by the virus.
But it is essential to mention that, more than 80 thousand absences were recorded on September 17, 2021, or more than 59.41%.
Recall that, according to the balance sheet of the database “Covid tracker”, Tunisia is ranked second most vaccinated country in Africa, with 38% vaccinated as of September 12, 2021. Morocco tops the list of African countries with a rate of 53.3% of the population vaccinated (according to statistics of September 10, 2021).
For its part, the World Health Organization (WHO) indicated on September 4, 2021, that Tunisia is in the list of African countries that have been able to achieve the global goal of vaccination against Covid-19.
In addition, the secretary general of the general federation of secondary education Lassaad Yacoubi told “JDD Tunisia” on Wednesday, September 17, 2021, that about one million Tunisian students are not yet vaccinated.
Decrease in the number of deaths and patients
The rate of positive tests dropped to less than 11% until September 16, 2021 (797 tests) and only 8 deaths were recorded on the same date.
To have more details and to know if we have really overcome the health crisis, “JDD Tunisia” contacted Hechmi Louzir the director of the Institut Pasteur and the president of the national commission for vaccination against the Coronavirus. He tells us that “the epidemiological situation is improving, as the number of positive cases decreases. There has been a downward trend over the past two weeks, calculating the number of new cases per 100,000 population.”
It is noted that the number of positive tests as of September 16, 2021, amounted to 797 cases, which Louzir considered as an indicator of the improved epidemiological situation in Tunisia.
The head of the national vaccination campaign stressed that the epidemiological evolution is positive in terms of the number of new cases, as well as in terms of the evolution of the vaccination process, given the percentage of Tunisians who received the first dose of vaccination and those who completed the vaccination. These are “factors that push us to be more cautious and wary of the emergence of new cases or an escalation.”
Decrease in bed occupancy rates in hospitals
In a statement granted to “JDD Tunisia”, the Director General of Health Structures at the Ministry of Health Naoufel Somrani added that the occupancy rate in all public hospitals has decreased to 46% and that of resuscitation beds has decreased to 52%, following the improvement in indicators of the epidemiological situation and the decrease in the number of patients. We are on the right track but tunisians must maintain the same measures. The health situation is constant or even improved compared to july and august. Indeed, at the end of July, the occupancy rate was more than 80% and in intensive care at 90%. But beware, he insisted, “if there is no perseverance in compliance with the health protocol the situation could regress.”
Rifi- JDD
