国际英语新闻:Tunisia reports 1,762 new COVID-19 cases, 159,276 in total

TUNIS, Jan. 10 (Xinhua) -- The Tunisian Health Ministry on Sunday reported 1,762 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total number of infections to 159,276.

The death toll from the virus rose by 62 to 5,215 in the North African country, the Ministry said in a statement.

The number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients reached 1,702 and a total of 683,912 lab tests have been carried out so far, it added.

Earlier, a senior Tunisian health official warned of the exponential spread of the COVID-19 in Tunisia, saying the pandemic has reached Stage Four.

"During this stage, contracting COVID-19 within a family exposes all members to the risk of infection, which is likely to worsen the number of cases across the country," said Chokri Hammouda, director general of National Authority for Assessment and Accreditation in Healthcare, in a statement quoted by Tunis Afrique Presse.

On April 16, 2020, China donated a batch of medical aid to Tunisia's Ministry of National Defense, including face masks, test kits and medical protective googles.