Algerian Health Minister Abderrahmane Benbouzid on Thursday said his government is ready to get the COVID-19 vaccine regardless of its price, reported CGTN Africa.
During a press conference in the Algerian capital Algiers, Benbouzid said that Algeria has joined the COVAX group with other countries to guarantee the protection of its citizens through the use of the vaccine against COVID-19.
“As soon as it is marketed, Algeria will acquire the vaccine to protect its citizens, whatever the cost,” the Algerian minister said.
Benbouzid also admitted that the country is facing a second wave of the pandemic, which is more fierce and dangerous than the first. He said a decline in vigilance and abandonment of the basic rules of prevention among local people is to be blamed for the spike in coronavirus cases in the country.
The Algerian minister said that the high number of infections is linked to the return to normal life, with the resumption of various commercial activities and classes in schools. He warned that the situation could even worse if the society fails to adhere to the preventive measures, which would force the government to take more stringent measures in the coming days.
On Thursday, the Algerian Health Ministry reported 642 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections to 60,169. The ministry also announced 12 new fatalities from the novel coronavirus, raising the country’s death toll to 2,011.
Earlier this week, the Algerian presidency confirmed that President Abdelmadjid Tebboune also tested positive for the coronavirus and is currently being treated in a German hospital. It said that the president’s health is gradually improving.
The announcement put an end to days of speculation over the health of the 74-year-old leader who was transferred from a hospital in Algiers to Germany last week, days after going into self-isolation following reports of novel coronavirus cases among his aides.
