(TAP) – Prime Minister Youssef Chahed appointed Youth and Sports Minister Sonia Ben Cheikh as acting Health Minister, according to a Prime Ministry press release Sunday.

The PM held earlier a meeting during which he entrusted Ben Cheikh with the management of the ministry’s affairs, follow-up of the public health sector and the opening of related files.

Health Minister Abderraouf Cherif had on Saturday night handed over his resignation to the Premier, following the death on the night of March 7 to 8, of 11 newborns at the Maternity and Neonatology Centre in the Rabta Hospital.

A legal investigation had been initiated to determine the circumstances of these deaths, Spokesperson for the Tunis Court of First Instance told TAP