Ministry said earlier this month that Tunisia"s health system had "collapsed" TUNIS: Tunisia’s Prime Minister Hichem Mechichi on Tuesday sacked Health Minister Faouzi Mehdi, Mechichi’s office said, amid spiralling coronavirus cases in the North African country. The ministry said earlier this month that Tunisia’s health system had “collapsed” under the weight of the pandemic, which has caused more than 17,000 deaths in a population of around 12 million inhabitants. The prime minister sacked Mehdi amid an exchange of accusations over performance in the fight against a COVID surge and the slow pace of the vaccination campaign. A government statement said the minister of social affairs will serve as an acting minister of health. With Wires.