Photo: John S. on Flickr
May 30, 2020: Exceptional circulation authorisation extended
The wilaya of Algiers announced, Friday, that the exceptional authorizations related to transport activities and traffic during the period of confinement issued by its services and administrative districts “will be extended and will remain in force, without the need to issue new ones” and this following the renewal of the confinement until June 13.
“Following the Prime Minister’s decision to extend the sanitary confinement for an additional 15 days in most wilayas of the country to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic, from 30 May to 13 June from 17:00 to 07:00, the wali of Algiers informs all citizens throughout the wilaya that the sanitary confinement will be extended for a period of 15 days,” the communiqué adds.
“Exceptional authorizations issued, from 15 to 30 May, by the services and administrative districts of the wilaya of Algiers to the staff of public and private organizations and institutions for transport activities during the period of confinement remain in force and there is no need to issue new ones,” the same source said.
The wali of Algiers “calls on all inhabitants and visitors to the capital to strictly comply with all preventive measures dictated by the health authorities, including the wearing of protective masks, the application of hygiene measures and physical distance to cope with the pandemic and thus preserve public health,” the document concludes.
For more information (in French), please visit the following link.
May 30, 2020: Closure of the 43 beaches of Mostaganem
As a preventive measure against the spread of the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19), the services of the wilaya of Mostaganem decided, Saturday, the banning of swimming and the closure of all beaches and roads leading to them. Hayat Mammeri, the director of the wilaya for tourism, handicrafts and family affairs, has also indicated that the preparations for the summer season, scheduled every year from June 1 to September 30, will continue in a normal way, despite the postponement of the opening of beaches to summer visitors because of the exceptional health situation that the country is going through.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
May 31, 2020: Transport of the deceased subject to strict regulations
The ablution of the deceased, whose death is related to the Coronavirus infection (COVID-19), must, obligatorily, take place at the morgue of the hospital establishment of the place of death or the nearest one. This is what emerges from the Interministerial Order of 13 Ramadhan 1441 corresponding to 6 May 2020 on the requirements applicable to the transport and burial of the remains of the deceased whose death is related to infection by the Coronavirus (COVID-19), which has just been published in the latest issue of the Official Gazette. The transport of the remains to the cemetery must be carried out under the control and escort of the national gendarmerie or national security services with territorial jurisdiction.
Also, the burial of the decease’s remains must be carried out promptly on the basis of the medical certificate issued by the doctor who certified the death related to the coronavirus infection (COVID-19) and the burial authorization issued by the president of the People’s Communal Assembly, territorially competent. When the death occurs in the home of the deceased, the death at home may be certified by a public or private doctor, who travels voluntarily or at the request of the competent authorities.
If the doctor who has established the death finds symptoms of Coronavirus (COVID-19) infection, he or she orders (prescribes) the transfer of the body to the morgue for possible screening and immediately informs the competent security services. It is also specified that only the ascendants and descendants of the deceased’s family members may take a last look at the deceased person, after ablution, while respecting the conditions of prevention and the measures relating to protection and social distancing.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
June 01, 2020: The deconfinement plan is ready
While the partial containment has been extended until June 13, the deconfinement plan bearing the recommendations of the scientific council in charge of monitoring the evolution of the VIDOC-19 pandemic is ready, reports the daily El Watan on Monday June 1, 2020, quoting a document dated May 30. The deconfinement plan takes into consideration the risks for public health, the economic and social consequences caused by the measures taken to limit and control the coronavirus pandemic in Algeria and the reinforcement of the control strategy. However, the scientific council has conditioned the deconfinement to an absence of active contamination in the community, to the reduction of transfers of cases to resuscitation and to the number of deaths, which is a current average of 3 to 7 deaths per day, explains the same newspaper.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
June 01, 2020: The Council of Ministers decides on the “gradual” lifting of containment in the public works sector
In this context, the President of the Republic said he was “satisfied with the gradual improvement noted in the fight against the spread of the Coronavirus pandemic, stressing the need to respect preventive measures, particularly the wearing of protective masks and respect for physical distance”. The President of the Republic also called on citizens to “the need to persevere in respecting preventive measures in order to support the results obtained”, urging the walis of the wilayas where total deconfinement has been decided to “closely monitor the situation and ensure compliance with these measures, including the ban on gatherings, festivals and weddings”.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
June 02, 2020: 1st ferry between Algeria and France since the suspension of crossings
A French ferry departed Algiers on Monday for Marseille (southern France), with a thousand people on board, providing the first passenger sea link with France since the suspension of crossings due to the VIDOC-19 pandemic. Throughout the morning, the ship embarked expatriates and Algerians residing in France, who were detained in Algeria because of travel restrictions due to the health crisis, according to AFP journalists.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
June 02, 2020: Two of the main Hirak figures should be released
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has pledged to release two of the main figures of the Hirak protest movement, Karim Tabbou and Samir Benlarbi, Sofiane Djilali, leader of an opposition party received by the head of state on 27 May, announced Tuesday. “It is a solemn commitment on his part,” Jil Jadid added, stressing that Abdelmadjid Tebboune had made it clear that he “does not directly interfere in matters of justice”. However, there are still obstacles, including legal ones, to the release of the two men, who are being held in Kolea prison near Algiers. They may not be eligible for a presidential pardon. As regards Karim Tabbou, “the legal solution is to submit a request for provisional release to the chamber of the Court of Cassation and the judge can decide to release Karim Tabbou,” explained one of his lawyers, Mustapha Bouchachi. Under Algerian law, the head of state has the right of pardon, which only concerns detainees who have been definitively sentenced, which is not the case for Samir Benlarbi, who has been in pre-trial detention since 7 March. However, there has been a precedent. “After the riots of October 1988 (against the FLN, the single party then in power, NDLR), hundreds of detainees were released by the then president. Their files were sent back sine die. I was a magistrate at the time. So yes, he (Mr. Tebboune) can release them,” explains Mr. Boudina.
For more information (in French), please consult the following link.
