“Algeria is facing an unprecedented difficult economic situation,” said Prime Minister Abdelaziz Djerad, quoted by the official APS news agency. The government decided in early May to slash the state budget by half because of the global collapse in oil prices and coronavirus lockdowns. A commission tasked with assessing the impact of the pandemic on the national economy was set up Saturday, according to APS. Algeria has reported several record daily tallies of COVID-19 cases in the past week, with 601 new infections confirmed Saturday. The worst-affected country in North Africa, Algeria has officially reported a total of more than 22,500 cases of the COVID-19, including 1,068 deaths.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 18, 2020 20:48 UTC