Coronavirus: Algeria reports second death

Algiers: Algeria has registered two deaths from the novel coronavirus, the health ministry announced Thursday, as schools were closed for three weeks.

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The first case was a man, aged 67, who had heart disease, the ministry’s director general, Djamel Fourar, told reporters.

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The second death announced in the evening by the health ministry was of a 55-year-old Algerian who had returned home from France.

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Seven new COVID-19 cases have been recorded, bringing the total number of confirmed cases on Algerian soil to 26, the ministry said.

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Other patients included two Algerians who had been in France.

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Seventeen members of the same family in Blida, southwest of the capital, have been infected with the virus, in connection with confirmed cases among Algerians living in France.

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The 67-year-old man whose death was announced Thursday was related to the family from Blida, Fourar said.

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The health ministry urged Algerians returning from countries with high infection rates to postpone “family visits unless absolutely necessary”.

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President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, for his part, ordered all Algerian schools to close from Thursday until April 5, his office said.

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The Morning and Evening Brief###

The Morning and Evening Brief