Photo: John S. on Flickr
August 01, 2020: Russia confirms completion of clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccine
The Russian Ministry of Health has announced the end of clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine developed by the Russian Gamaleïa Centre and the necessary documents to register the vaccine are being prepared, reports Sputniknews on Saturday, August 1, 2020.
On 21 July, Russia’s Deputy Minister of Defence announced that the country’s first vaccine developed by military virologists in collaboration with the Russian Gamaleïa Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology was ready.
The same Russian official explained that doctors and teachers will be the first people to be vaccinated against COVID-19, adding that vaccination of the population against COVID-19 will be launched in October.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
August 01, 2020: WHO predicts a “very long” pandemic
The World Health Organization (WHO) said Saturday that the duration of the coronavirus pandemic “is likely to be very long”, six months after declaring it a “public health emergency of international concern”. For the UN agency, “the risk posed by COVID-19 is very high,” reports the UN site, and adds that “most of the world’s inhabitants may be affected, even those who do not live in hard-hit areas”. Since the end of June, Algeria has been facing an outbreak of COVID-19, with an average of 600 daily cases recorded in recent days.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 31, 2020: “Algeria will acquire the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it becomes available”
Algeria will acquire the coronavirus vaccine as soon as it becomes available. This is what the Algerian Ministry of Health has made known through a press release issued on the evening of Thursday, July 30. The health authority also says it is closely following the various research that is currently being carried out in many laboratories worldwide.
But while waiting for possible vaccines, the Ministry of Health made a point of recalling that “the prevention and the respect of the rules of hygiene, social distancing and barrier measures, remains the most appropriate means to fight against this pandemic”, concludes the same press release.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 31, 2020: The situation at hospital level is clearly improving
The Minister of Health said that thanks to the new measures taken in the context of the care of people with COVID-19 and the fight against the spread of this pandemic, it has been noted that the situation at the level of hospitals has “stabilized and it is clearly and constantly improving”, adding that what has been “achieved” so far will help his department to further improve the system.
In this sense, doctors and paramedics from the various establishments visited by the Minister expressed, for their part, their “satisfaction” with the “reduction of the workload” in their services.
“For some time now, we have seen less pressure within the COVID-19 units and this is also due to the involvement of the polyclinics in the care of patients with mild diseases,” said the various managers of these units in the hospitals of Ain Taya, El Kettar and Zeralda.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 30, 2020: Deaths on the rise, new cases on the decline
The number of new cases of coronavirus contamination is down for the 2nd day in a row in Algeria, while the number of deaths is on the rise, to reach a total of 1200, according to the assessment of the epidemic established on Thursday by the Ministry of Health.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 30, 2020: Steps taken to ensure vaccine availability (Ministry)
The Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform has begun prospecting and taking the necessary steps to ensure the availability of the vaccine, as part of the efforts made by the State to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), reports the official agency today, Thursday, July 30, 2020, citing a press release from the Ministry.
From this perspective, “no effort will be spared by the Pasteur Institute to meet the expectations of this COVID-19 pandemic”, notes the same source, specifying that “the progress made by a number of laboratories in the development of the vaccine against the Coronavirus presages the imminence of the commercialization of this vaccine”.
“As part of the efforts made by the State to prevent the spread of the Coronavirus in our country, vaccination is the most effective means of combating it,” notes the Ministry of Health, stressing, however, that “prevention, particularly compliance with hygiene rules, distancing and barrier measures, remain the most appropriate means of combating this pandemic.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 29, 2020: “Virus loves all seasons”, according to WHO
The hypothesis that the COVID-19 virus disappeared in hot weather is now ruled out. Seasons do not seem to have an impact on the development of the coronavirus pandemic. This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) infers, warning against the illusion of being protected in summer, according to AFP.
“There seems to be a persistent idea that the virus is seasonal […] but we all have to keep in mind that this is a new virus, and even if it is a respiratory virus, which are historically seasonal, it behaves differently,” she insisted.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 29, 2020: Specialist anticipates 2nd COVID-19 wave in Algeria
Prof. Salah Lellou, head of the pneumology department of the Specialized Hospital Establishment (EHS) of Oran, said he was “convinced” that Algeria will register a second wave of the COVID-19 pandemic fifteen days after the feast of Eid el-Adha which will be celebrated this Friday, July 31.
The professor believes that we may have reached the peak of the pandemic in this month of July “since the figures have been practically the same for a week” and hopes that the curve will “go down” and that “even if there will be a second wave, it will be less”.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 28, 2020: The death toll continues to rise on July 28th (648 cases)
The number of contaminations and deaths due to the Coronavirus continues to rise for the second consecutive week on 28 July in Algeria. The authorities monitoring the pandemic have counted an increase of new cases in the last 24 hours of no less than 648 cases (against 616 the day before) and eleven (11) people have died (against 8 the day before), announces the spokesman of the Scientific Committee, Dr. Djamel Fourar.
The President of the Republic, Abdeladjid Tebboune, stated at the meeting of the Council of Ministers held yesterday that since the “decentralization of decision-making”, the management of the health crisis has clearly improved on the ground.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 28, 2020: Eid El Adha Ritual at the time of COVID-19 – Between the qualities of the meat and the sacrifice of the sheep
With the spread of the Covid-19 epidemic that has just reached dizzying levels in the country, the taste is certainly not to be had. Many Algerians are likely to overlook the sacrifice of sheep this year.
The respect of hygiene and health rules, before and after the killing of the animal, are all measures that must be complied with in order to deserve meat and by-products (red and white offal) of a highly superior hygienic and organoleptic quality. In this regard, Law No. 88-08 of 26 January 1988, relating to the protection of animal health and the practice of veterinary medicine, although obsolete, has enacted provisions relating to the slaughter and rendering of animals. In the event of infringement or failure to comply with hygiene rules, it provides for penalties which may be criminal in nature.
On this point, numerous studies have shown that bleeding according to the Muslim rite has less impact on human health, particularly in terms of meat quality and safety, unlike the so-called “jugulation” bleeding practised by non-Muslims, particularly in large animals, which can result in inferior quality meat with, in addition, a poor quality liver.
In referring to the operation of cutting up carcasses in this health crisis, it is important to draw the attention of our fellow citizens to one (other) risk of the coronavirus spreading. This risk is due to the promiscuity and grouping of individuals, but also to the overcrowding of carcasses in the butcher’s premises, which is generally observed during each Eid El Adha festival. Indeed, the traditional queues at the threshold of butcher shops (and poultry merchants?) during the two days following the sacrifice constitute a risk of massive transmission of the virus and which is, moreover, amplified by the fact that the pieces of meat from different carcasses will be strongly manipulated by equipment that will not necessarily be cleaned after each cutting of a carcass. The surface of carcasses from several households, being an “inert” medium for “passive” transmission of the virus, even if this remains hypothetical.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
July 27, 2020: Impacts of COVID-19 Financial aid of 30 000 DA to SMEs and small trades
Financial assistance of 30,000 dinars will be allocated to SMEs and small trades, affected by the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), for a period of 3 months, based on a rigorous assessment of the situation of each corporation over the last 4 months.
“The first results of the Commission’s work, organised under the direction of the Prime Minister and bringing together the social partners and economic operators, have converged towards a shared methodological approach and the identification of lines of work grouping together a series of measures designed to preserve employment and promote the activities of companies”, it is stated.
At the end of this presentation on the economic and social impacts caused by the health crisis, the President of the Republic pointed out that “the economic sphere was waiting for the facilitation of entrepreneurial action and support in overcoming the effects induced by the current stagnation as a consequence of the health crisis”.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
