Tunisian authorities will impose a curfew in the capital Tunis to slow a surge in coronavirus cases, months after stopping a first wave with an expensive lockdown that the government says it cannot afford to repeat.

The governors of four provinces that make up greater Tunis said in a statement broadcast on state TV that there would be a curfew between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. and a suspension of Friday prayers in mosques. The curfew will take effect from Thursday. State TV said the curfew would start at 7 p.m. on weekends.

"The decision has come too late but it will help us break the rise in cases," said Imed Souissi, a fruit seller.

Tunisia entirely shut down its economy in March and closed its borders, limiting the spread of coronavirus to a few hundred confirmed cases. But it has now racked up more than 20,000 over the past month, with only 200 intensive care beds designated for COVID-19 available in the whole country.