Saudi Arabia to send one million doses of vaccine to Tunisia

TUNIS: Saudi Arabia will send a medical aid package to Tunisia that includes one million doses of vaccine to help the North Africa country control the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saudi Arabia joins other Arab countries in helping Tunisia, which is facing the collapse of its health care system, including Egypt, Algeria, UAE, Kuwait, Turkey and Qatar.

The Saudi Press Agency said on Monday the aid also includes 190 respirators and other equipment.

"We are in a catastrophic situation ... the health system has collapsed, we can only find a bed in hospitals with great difficulty," said health ministry spokesperson Nisaf Ben Alaya.

Intensive care units are full and there is a severe shortage of oxygen, officials said.

The latest aid brings to 2 million vaccine doses donated to Tunisia, where vaccinations lag far behind other countries. So far, only 730,000 people have been fully vaccinated out of a total of 11.6 million residents.

Tunisia recorded 106 deaths on Monday and reported 4,300 new coronavirus cases.

The total number of coronavirus cases so far in the country has climbed to more than 500,000, with about 16,500 deaths.