TUNISIA approved Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine on Thursday, the health minister Faouzi Mehdi said, and will soon receive 1.5 million doses of the vaccine under an African Union plan. The North Africa country also intends to buy further doses directly from the company to speed up its vaccination campaign, as it seeks to vaccinate 5 million people by the end of the year. Tunisia will extend its nighttime curfew hours and will prevent all gatherings and weekly markets to curb the rapid spread of the coronavirus pandemic, as intensive care units near-maximum capacity in most hospitals.