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A few weeks after the surge in coronavirus cases caused the North African intensive care unit to be overwhelmed and severe hypoxia caused public outrage, the number of cases dropped sharply.
The following is an understanding of the situation in the four Maghreb countries (Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria and Libya) based on official data collected by AFP.
Tunisia
Pictures of the intensive care unit crowded with COVID-19 patients in July Arouse public outrage In Tunisia, the region has the largest number of deaths per capita from the virus, with approximately 24,500 out of a population of 11.7 million.
At its peak, the latest wave saw more than 55,000 new infections between July 7 and 13-the weekly figure is seven times the current infection rate. 342 people have died from the virus in the past 7 days, only one-fifth of the death toll in the last week of July.
The authorities responded to the surge through strict curfews and travel restrictions. Neighboring Libya has closed its border with Tunisia. These measures have now been relaxed.
Hechmi Louzir, director of the Pasteur Institute in Tunisia, who is a member of the country’s pandemic scientific committee, said: “The mass vaccination of the population will have an impact.”
He told AFP that by October, as many as 60% of the population could be fully vaccinated, adding that a large number of infections also improved immunity.
Agence France-Presse data shows that in the past week, the population of Tunisia has been vaccinated faster than any other African country, with 0.81% of the population being vaccinated every day.
More than a quarter of Tunisians are now fully vaccinated.
Morocco
According to data from Agence France-Presse, 13,800 of the approximately 36 million people in Morocco have died of new coronary pneumonia.
The kingdom is ahead of its neighbouring Maghreb in terms of vaccination, with 46.7% of people fully vaccinated.
After Morocco relaxed its curfew and opened its borders to tourists in June, the number of infections surged. This allows Moroccans who have been hit hard by highly contagious delta variants in European countries to go home for the summer vacation.
The number of cases has been spiraling upward, with approximately 70,000 new cases added in the week of early August. The authorities responded by imposing a new curfew and restricting movement and gatherings.
Ministry of Health official Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih said this week that the infection rate has fallen for the fifth consecutive week. But in a comment published by the official MAP news agency, he warned that “continue to record high-risk cases and deaths”.
The country has postponed the start date of the new school year to October 1st and launched a vaccination campaign among young people.
Moroccans arrive at a parking lot in Moulay Busselm, north of the capital Rabat, to be tested [File: AFP]Algeria
Algeria’s official death toll was 5,650, and in September it announced a goal of vaccinating 70% of its nearly 43.9 million population by the end of the year.
However, data from Agence France-Presse showed that only 13% of the population received the first vaccination this week, while less than 10% were fully vaccinated.
The number of cases in the country peaked in the last week of July, with the number of infections exceeding 10,000, but has since declined.
There were 268 deaths in the first week of August, compared with 132 deaths in the past 7 days.
The authorities retained the curfew, but reopened beaches, entertainment venues and sports fields, and spectators were required to show health passes. Wedding parties are still banned-and so are political protests.
Algeria resumed its international flights in June after being suspended for more than a year.
Libya
Libya’s national institutions have been degraded by a decade of conflict, and 4,500 of the official record of 7 million people have died from the new crown pneumonia.
Like its neighbors, it has reported a peak of infections and then a sharp decline in recent weeks.
In the last week of July, it recorded 24,000 new cases and 204 deaths, but the number of infections and 83 deaths in the past 7 days was only one-third of that number.
Vaccination campaigns in this divided country started slowly, but on August 11, a center was opened in the capital Tripoli, and another center was opened in the east of the country 10 days later, followed by a series of smaller centers.
Statistics from Agence France-Presse showed that slightly more than 18% of Libyans received their first jab.
But the vaccines-Sinovac in China and Sputnik V in Russia-arrived in irregular batches, and only 2% of Libyans received two complete doses of the vaccine.
Libyan health authorities noticed that the number of infections in the west has declined after the border with neighboring Tunisia was closed on July 8.
The border reopened on Friday and strict sanitation measures have been taken to prevent cases from increasing again.
Authorities worry that a similar rise may occur in eastern Libya as cases in neighbouring Egypt surge.
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