TUNIS, April 7 (Xinhua) -- The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Tunisia has risen to 623, including 23 deaths, the Tunisian Minister of Health Abdellatif Mekki announced on Tuesday.
"We will reach an alarming phase in which people will die in the streets and at the gates of hospitals if all citizens do not respect the general confinement," warned Mekki at a joint press conference with the Minister of the Interior, Hichem Mechichi.
"Unfortunately, we will not be able to count the number of deaths if the general safety and health rules to deal with the new coronavirus are not respected, in particular general confinement and partial curfew in addition to social distancing," Mekki said.
On March 20, Tunisian government announced a 14-day confinement across the country from March 22 to April 4. On March 31, the government decided to extend the general confinement for two more weeks starting from April 5.
