UAE sends more medical aid to Tunisia to fight virus

The Emirati shipment followed the Tunisian president dismissing parliament and the prime minister last month in what critics have called a coup.

The United Arab Emirates sent more medical aid to Tunisia on Wednesday to help the North African country fight its COVID-19 outbreak.

The UAE sent two cargo planes carrying respirators, oxygen tanks and other related equipment to Tunisia, the official Emirates News Agency reported.

Tunisia is averaging around 280 new coronavirus cases a day in its population of more than 11 million, which is down from the historically high average of more than 600 a day in July. Approximately 14% of the Tunisian population has received at least one vaccine dose, according to the Oxford University-based Our World in Data.

The Tunisian government has asked regional states for help amid the outbreak. In July, the UAE sent vaccine doses to Tunisia. Morocco, Egypt and Saudi Arabia also dispatched medical supplies to the country that month.

The Emirati aid delivery Wednesday came after the purported coup in Tunisia last month, when President Kais Saied sacked the prime minister and suspended parliament. The latest shipment from the UAE indicates the Gulf state’s continued willingness to work with Tunisia amid the crackdown.