Like many other countries, Algeria is facing an upsurge in Covid-19 cases. At a time when the Maghreb country most affected by the pandemic - which is approaching the symbolic bar of 1,000 dead - Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is presiding over a working meeting this Thursday to deal with the epidemic.
Five walis (prefects) from the most affected regions - Algiers, Oran (north-west), Biskra (north-east), Sétif (east) and Ouargla (south) - participate in this meeting alongside Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, heads of security services and members of the Scientific Committee for monitoring the evolution of the pandemic, which reports to the Ministry of Health, according to the official agency APS.
Several reconfigured municipalities
On Thursday, the authorities ordered the reconfiguration of two municipalities in the wilaya of El Kala, bordering Tunisia, two days after a similar decision concerning 18 municipalities in the wilaya of Setif. This rebound in cases of contamination is due, according to the authorities, to the "relaxation" of the population and to the "non-compliance" with prevention and protection rules.
The wearing of a sanitary mask has been compulsory since May 24 and offenders are sentenced to heavy fines. But many Algerians continue to be resistant to the wearing of masks and to measures of physical distancing. One month after the first deconfinement measures, the government demanded at the end of June a tightening of the sanctions against the offenders. And he advised the local authorities to proceed to the “targeted containment” of the localities and districts plagued by foci of infection.
1,700 contaminated health personnel
In total, nearly 17,500 cases of Covid-19 have been officially declared on Algerian soil since the registration of the first case on February 25, including 978 deaths.
Health professionals, who have been on the front lines for months and who keep calling on the population to take responsibility and claim more resources from the authorities, are paying a heavy price.
Professor Abdelkrim Soukehal, a member of the Scientific Committee, announced on Wednesday that 1,700 health workers, all bodies combined, had been infected. 31 died, including 4 doctors during this week.
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