August 09 – 15, 2020 | Press Review Algeria

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Photo: John S. on Flickr

August 15, 2020: The discipline of the faithful will speed up the reopening of the mosques

“The discipline of the faithful and their compliance with preventive health measures will speed up the full reopening of all mosques in the Republic,” said Mr. Belmahdi who supervised the reopening of the Khaled Larbi mosque in the commune of Heraoua for the accomplishment of the Dohr prayer. Mr. Belmahdi saluted the imams, associations, committees, volunteers and organizers for their “efficient” role in the gradual reopening of mosques, wishing that the mobilization, caution and vigilance remain in place at all times.

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August 15, 2020: Algeria reopens its mosques and allows access to beaches

The reopening of the mosques as of this Saturday was welcomed by the faithful and the imams, especially since these places of prayer had remained closed since mid-March because of the COVID-19 epidemic. This reopening will, of course, in strict compliance with health measures, social distancing and the wearing of masks. The faithful are also invited to bring their own prayer mats with them.

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August 14, 2020: Global Pandemic Update

The coronavirus pandemic has caused at least 750,471 deaths and nearly 20.7 million cases worldwide, according to a count carried out by AFP from official sources.

The United States is the country most in mourning (166,038 deaths), ahead of Brazil (105,463), Mexico (55,293) and India (47,033).

Mexico exceeds half a million cases.

Containment extension in New Zealand.

Figures up in Morocco.

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August 13, 2020: Gamaleia Centre responds to criticism of Russian vaccine

Alexander Grinzburg, director of the Scientific Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology Gamaleïa in Moscow, reacted in a statement to the Russian agency Sputniknews on Thursday 13 August 2020 to the doubts expressed by some scientists, saying that it would be naïve to expect a positive reaction from other countries to the licensing of the first vaccine against the new coronavirus in Russia.

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August 12, 2020: Four (4) walis tested positive for Coronavirus

The tenant of El Mouradia thus disclosed the information today August 12. According to the President of the Republic, the quartet of senior officials of the Algerian State has therefore contracted the coronavirus, COVID-19. Moreover, these officials, who head the four wilayas they head, were unable to attend the meeting, which brought together the executive branch in the walis.

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August 11, 2020: Algeria attaches “utmost” importance to vaccine procurement

“This morning, for the first time in the world, a vaccine against the new coronavirus was registered,” he said, assuring that the vaccine is “quite effective” and that it “gives long-lasting immunity”.

The president also revealed that one of his daughters had been inoculated with the Russian vaccine. “She participated in the experiment,” he said, saying she had a little bit of a temperature, “and that’s it.

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August 10, 2020 : Bekkat Berkani-“The acquisition of the COVID-19 vaccine could take place towards the end of the year”.

“Algeria’s acquisition of the covid 19 vaccine could take place towards the end of the year,” he said in a statement to the newspaper El Moudjahid. According to him, contacts are intensifying to enshrine this objective.

“Discussions are being held between Algerian officials with their counterparts in partner countries, and the scientific commission has also been contacted by private laboratories,” he explained. These include drug manufacturing companies Astra Zeneca, Pfizer, Sanofi and the American laboratory Moderna.

“Algeria has repeatedly reaffirmed its intention to obtain the vaccine once it has been tested and validated both by the health authorities of the country of origin and by the World Health Organization,” said Dr. Bekkat Berkani, who added that Algeria’s partners are committed to better cooperation in order to enable our country to benefit from sufficient quantities of vaccine once it is placed on the market.

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10 August, 2020: Talks between Mr Beldjoud and the Spanish ministry of interior – Security cooperation and the fight against organised crime

The Minister of the Interior, Local Government and Spatial Planning, Kamal Beldjoud, and his Spanish counterpart, Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez, highlighted yesterday in Algiers the “necessary” joint efforts between Algeria and Spain to develop bilateral relations as well as cooperation and the fight against organised crime.

In a statement to the press at the end of his meeting with the Spanish Minister of the Interior, who is currently visiting Algeria, Mr Beldjoud described relations between the two countries as “excellent”, adding that he had exchanged views with his counterpart on issues of interest to both countries in the field of security and civil protection. The meeting was also an opportunity for both sides to discuss the issue of illegal migration. In this respect, Mr Beldjoud stressed that he had made it clear to his Spanish counterpart that Algeria was mobilising “very significant” financial, material and human resources to combat this phenomenon, from which it was suffering. The Minister of the Interior added that during the meeting, he had stressed the need for the two countries to combine their efforts, particularly in the area of information exchange, to fight against the “drug mafia networks”.

For his part, the Spanish minister said he had discussed with Mr Beldjoud ways of cooperating in the security field in order to combat organised crime and the activities of terrorist groups in the region and in the Sahel, adding that the meeting had also dealt with the issue of ongoing training for the security forces in both countries, as well as cooperation in the field of civil protection and road safety. “While the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has changed many things, it has not diminished our willingness to continue our efforts to develop our relations and cooperation,” Fernando Grande-Marlaska Gomez said.
The Spanish official considered that his visit to Algeria (the third of its kind) “clearly shows that bilateral cooperation remains intact despite the current situation”, adding that “it will even develop further”.

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August 10, 2020: Contaminations below 500 cases per day

Algeria has recorded, during the last 24 hours, 498 new contaminations with Covid-19, bringing to 35,712 the total number of positive cases in the country since the outbreak of the epidemic last February, according to the latest report published on Monday, August 10, by the Ministry of Health.

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August 09, 2020: Death of Benhamadi at Covid-19 in prison: his family denounces “negligence”


In a letter of thanks and precision, published this Sunday in an advertisement in two national dailies, El-Watan and El-Khabar, the family of the deceased first made a point of thanking all those who showed solidarity with them in this “painful circumstance”.

Then, the Benhamadi family provided a series of clarifications regarding the circumstances of the death of the former minister. Indeed, “he did not benefit from adequate care, nor did he benefit from careful auscultation, despite his condition and symptoms that referred directly to Covid-19,” the family said.

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August 09, 2020: Pr Belhocine – Screening for COVID-19 affects only 10% of contaminated cases


As a result, he estimated this Sunday during his appearance on the national radio that 9 out of 10 cases are carriers of the virus and are not diagnosed in society. This means that there are cases who have the virus but they do not have any important symptoms so they do not consider it useful to do the test and it is this kind of people who spread the virus.

Epidemiological investigations are very important in these types of contaminations, because this virus is everywhere and only part of it is seen in people who go to hospital. So, it is the sick people in hospital who give us the lines to investigate with the people they were in contact with.

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