ALGIERS, July 9 (Xinhua) -- A member of Algeria's Scientific Committee monitoring the spread of COVID-19 said on Thursday that about 1,700 medical staff in the country have been infected with the coronavirus.
Professor Abdelkrim Soukhal, a member of the committee, was quoted by local media as saying that "we have identified about 1,700 infections among the medical staff in the whole country."
He said that about 40 of the 1,700 infected people have died from the deadly infectious respiratory disease.
Soukhal said the medical staff entered the fight against the pandemic without "enough weapons."
At the same time, he assured that the situation was "under control" in Algeria and the committee is closely monitoring its developments.
As of July 9, Algeria has reported a total of 17,804 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 988 deaths.
The country reported the first COVID-19 case on Feb. 25, an Italian national who was subsequently sent back home.
Algeria has resumed economic and commercial activities since June 7 as part of the efforts to return to normal life.
China and Algeria have offered mutual help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic.
A Chinese medical expert team arrived in Algeria on May 14 for a 15-day mission to help fight the coronavirus, through sharing China's experiences in controlling its spread. Enditem
