Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has ordered the government to gradually lift the lockdown measures due to an improved COVID-19 situation.
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In a message delivered to the nation, Tebboune congratulated Algerians on the occasion of the holy fasting month of Ramadan, which starts on Friday, saying, “I have issued instructions to review the quarantine procedure in line with the progress of the situation on the ground.”
“The more indicators show improvement here and there, the closer we will be to returning to our normal life,” Tebboune said, urging people to observe the confinement measures in a bid to get over the COVID-19 pandemic as soon as possible.
The Algerian president said, “We have managed, so far, to narrowing the spread of the pandemic,” while urging “more solidarity and synergy, as well as highest degree of discipline, patience and vigilance” in the Algerian people.
Shortly after the president’s national speech, Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad announced lifting the total lockdown at the Blida province, the epicentre of the novel coronavirus outbreak in the North African country, as of Friday, while replacing it with a partial lockdown from 2:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m. the next day.
The Algerian government has also decided to relax the partial lockdown measures imposed on 10 other provinces, including the capital Algiers, with the confinement shortened to run between 5:00 p.m., instead of 3:00 p.m., and 7 a.m.
Earlier on Thursday, Djamel Fourar, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission, told reporters that the total confirmed COVID-19 cases increased to 3,007 cases with 91 new infections reported over the last 24 hours.
Fourar added that the death toll reached 407 after registering an additional five fatalities.
The number of recoveries reached 152, bringing the total number to 1,355.