The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity (GNU), Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba on Tuesday instructed the Minister of Transportation to resume flights between Libyan and Tunisian airports, starting on Thursday.
He urged for all precautionary measures to be taken to combat the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Dbaiba’s decision was based on the recommendations of the ‘Follow-up Committee on the status of Citizens Stranded in Tunisia’ to reopen the land and air border crossings, given the critical health and humanitarian conditions.
Earlier in July, Libya closed its border with Tunisia amid rising COVID-19 infections due to the Delta variant.
The Libyan government recently launched an “exceptional” vaccination campaign against COVID-19, where people above the age of 18, whether Libyans or foreigners, can go to temporary vaccination centers for inoculation.
Many Libyans travel to Tunisia for medical treatment, and this number has risen exponentially as the oil-rich country slid into chaos after the fall of former President, Muammar Gaddafi in the NATO-backed uprising of 2011.
Libya has recorded 286,894 positive cases and 3,956 deaths. The country’s National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) stated that 413,883 of its about 6.5 million residents have been vaccinated.