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.

A British man has died following a snowboarding accident in Andorra, authorities in the principality have said.

The 59-year-old tourist is thought to have lost control and hit a tree while travelling at “high speed” in the Grandvalira ski resort on Monday.

It is understood the snowboarder had been on his own at the time of the incident and suffered a cardiac arrest.

In a statement, the Grandvalira resort said emergency teams had been dispatched in a bid to help the man.