ALGIERS, April 4 (Xinhua) -- Algeria on Saturday declared a nationwide lockdown to slow down the spread of COVID-19, which has claimed 130 lives in the country.
The Algerian government said in a statement that a full lockdown has been maintained in the epicenter of the novel coronavirus outbreak, the province of Blida.
Meanwhile, in nine provinces including Algiers, Oran, Medea, Setif, Ain Defla, Bejaia, Tizi Ouzou, Tlemcen and Tipaza, a partial lockdown will continue from 3 p.m. to 7 a.m, the statement added.
The government further imposed a partial lockdown in 38 provinces from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m.
The new measure is due to come into force as of Sunday and will last until April 19.
In fact, several doctors and activists have been calling on the government to impose a full lockdown all over the country for two weeks in a row, in a bid to slow down the upward trend of COVID-19 infections.
Algeria reported 80 new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 1,251.
Djamel Fourar, head of the COVID-19 Detection and Follow-up Commission, told a press briefing that deaths from COVID-19 reached 130 in Algeria, after registering 25 new deaths in the past 24 hours.
Fourar noted that death cases have been reported so far in 27 out of 48 provinces nationwide, adding that the cured cases reached 90.
He urged the citizens to stay home and practice social distancing while going out for shopping, noting that these two measures are the most efficient measures to contain the virus spread. Enditem
