Tunisia imposes COVID-19 vaccine pass on Tunisians and all foreign visitors

COVID-19 patients receive treatment at Charles Nicole Hospital in Tunis

TUNIS (Reuters) -Tunisia is imposing COVID-19 vaccine passes on Tunisians and all foreign visitors, a presidential decree showed on Friday.

Officials, employees and users are required to show a card proving inoculation against the coronavirus to access public and private administrations, according to the decree. The pass will also be required to enter cafes, restaurants, hotels and tourist establishments, it said.

The decree showed that the jobs of employees who did not receive vaccination in the public and private sectors will be suspended until the vaccine pass is presented.

The vaccine pass will also be a necessary document for travelling abroad. The decree says that authorities should give a pass to every person who has received the vaccination. It will also be given to foreign visitors who present a certificate of vaccination upon arrival.

More than 4.2 million of Tunisians out of about 11.6 million resident have completed their COVID-19 vaccination, the Tunisian Ministry of Health said.

Tunisia last month entirely lifted its nightly curfew after about a year in force, as outbreaks of the virus diminished.

(Reporting By Tarek Amara; editing by Grant McCool)