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COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria

The COVID-19 pandemic in Algeria was a part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Algeria in February 2020.^[3] In response, the Algerian government ordered curfews, restricted gatherings, canceled public events, and issued stay-at-home orders between February and June. Some measures were re-implemented in later months in response to new waves of infections. A mass vaccination campaign against COVID-19 began in January 2021.^[4] The pandemic disrupted anti-government protests, which largely halted in 2020 and resumed in 2021.^[5][6] 6,881 deaths were officially recorded by the Algerian government through 2022,^[7] although the World Health Organization estimated over 21,000 deaths had occurred through 2021.^[8]

Background[edit]

On 12 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan City, Hubei Province, China, who had initially come to the attention of the WHO on 31 December 2019.^[9][10] Unlike SARS of 2003, the case fatality ratio for COVID-19^[11][12] was much lower, but the transmission was significantly greater, with a significant total death toll.^[13][11] Algerians living in Wuhan were repatriated in early February.^[14] On February 12, the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform announced it was preparing a new emergency plan for handling an outbreak of the virus.^[15]

Timeline[edit]