Algeria will partially reopen its borders on June 1 after more than a year of closure
Algeria was one of the first African countries to completely close its borders at the first signs of the pandemic. The measure, further justified by its geographical proximity to Europe, has remained in force since then.
More than a year later, the country is finally losing weight.
Algeria's air and land borders will be partially reopened from June 1. So decided by the Council of Ministers this Sunday, May 16. Initially, 5 daily flights are authorized to and from the airports of Algiers, Constantine and Oran. Unsurprisingly, these will be subject to strict compliance with anti-Covid-19 measures. "An organizational program will be communicated on this subject in a week," informs the government. Still, "people entering Algeria, nationals or foreigners, will have to present, on their arrival, a PCR test of less than 36 hours, and submit to tests that we consider reliable", explained the Minister of Health, Abderrahmane Benbouzid. “Negative (tested) subjects will be allowed entry and will be informed of the recommendations and instructions to be followed. Positive subjects will, for their part, be subject to confinement for 10 days,”according to the minister. Algerian borders have been closed since March 17, 2020, as part of the fight against the spread of the coronavirus. Since then, the country has been one of the few in the world to remain closed. To date, the North African nation has recorded more than 125,000 cases of contamination including about 3,370 deaths, according to official sources. For more than a year, only cargo and repatriation flights have been authorized there (domestic trips since December 6).
On March 1, 2021, some repatriation flights were also suspended, with a view to avoiding the importation of new variants of Covid-19 into Algerian territory. It is therefore clear that this reopening of the sky next month is a sigh of relief for Air Algeria, the national company ready for "a gradual resumption" of its international flights. Indeed, the Algerian pavilion has accumulated a loss of more than 40 billion dinars (252 million EUR) in 2020 due to the health crisis. Discussions are currently underway with the government for a financial bailout, essential for its survival. Algeria's air and land borders will be partially reopened from June 1. So decided by the Council of Ministers this Sunday, May 16. Initially, 5 daily flights are authorized to and from the airports of Algiers, Constantine and Oran. Unsurprisingly, these will be subject to strict compliance with anti-Covid-19 measures. "An organizational program will be communicated on this subject in a week," informs the government.
