Morocco said Saturday it will ban entry to all travellers from China, where cases of Covid-19 have exploded. Other...
COVID-19: North Africa & Sahel
From Shield & Alert:
Senegal at the Center of Another Geopolitical FightMali: Al Qaeda attacks rebel convoy in the Ouagadou forestFrom a Russian Grain Export Onslaught to a Ban on French Cattle: Agricultural Trade Between France and Algeria in StandstillNiger and Algeria recall their ambassadors over undocumented migrantsSenegal: Disgraced President leaves office to find shelter in MarrakeshMorocco: Health workers go on strike, demand implementation of reformsAlgeria: President announces early election, no one knows whyAlgeria: Beware of forgery. New law seeks to reduce fraud and white collar crimeMorocco: Price of butane gas to increase by 25% in AprilUS-Niger relations face uncertainty, with Niamey’s pivot to RussiaBrief: Tunisia: The Lazy GovernorsAlgeria: Opposition leader Zoubida Assoul announces presidential bidAgriculture: Spanish farmers say Moroccan strawberries carry virus, as Morocco surpasses Spain as tomato supplier to EUBloody Sunday: The indiscriminate killing of Muslim and Catholic worshipers in Burkina FasoNiger and Mali up their anti-Western positions, lash out at France and USNiger: Two soldiers killed in insurgent attack in DiffaMali: Katiba Mecina insurgents raid military camp in Niono, repelledSenegal’s outgoing president prepares for disgraced exitAlgeria-Morocco Competition for Regional Influence Shifts to Economic AffairsLibya: Bank and power company employees detained over separate corruption affairs
Covid-19: First case of Omicron in Tunisia comes from Turkey
Tunisia recorded its first confirmed case of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in a Congolese man who arrived...
Covid-19: Egypt bars unvaccinated employees and students from accessing public facilities
Egypt on Monday barred officials and students not vaccinated against Covid-19 from government offices and universities...
More on Covid-19 in North Africa and the Sahel
Morocco lifts Covid curfew
Morocco on Tuesday said it was lifting a nationwide pandemic curfew thanks to an improving health situation and...
Covid-19: Tunisia lifts nighttime curfew as virus cases fall
Tunisian President Kais Saied on Friday announced the lifting of a nighttime curfew in place since March 2020 due to...
Egypt inks deal with Chinese Covid vaccine maker to manufacture a billion doses per year
Egypt said Wednesday it plans to manufacture one billion doses a year of China's Sinovac vaccine, claiming it would...
Covid-19 in the Maghreb: More restrictions in Morocco, peak infection in Tunisia and panic in Algeria
Coronavirus: Latest global developments Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: - China outbreak –...
Algeria: Delta variant is driving Covid cases to new records, but fear is accelerating vaccinations
And in the Mideast too The World Health Organization said Thursday the Delta variant has led to a "surge" in...
Covid-19: Libya announces night curfew to stem rise of coronavirus, but not in Haftar’s controlled territories
Libya's government Monday announced a two-week overnight curfew in the areas it controls in the centre and west of the...
Covid-19: Rush to vaccinate in Libya as pandemic continues to spread
Libyan authorities on Saturday stepped up their vaccination campaign around the capital Tripoli, as coronavirus cases...
Covid-19: Tunisia gets global support to combat crippling pandemic
The exhausting fight against Covid in Tunisia By Cecilia Sanchez In Tunisia's Mediterranean resort of Sousse,...
Tunisian government in crisis amid exploding Covid-19 cases
Tunisia's government stumbled deeper into crisis on Wednesday over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, after...
Covid-19: Mauritania reinstates new measures to contain coronavirus
Mauritania, concerned over rising Covid-19 infections, has banned mosque prayers over the Islamic festival of Eid...
Covid-19: Algeria is confronting a more virulent third wave
The North Africa Journal - Daily confirmed positive cases in Algeria rose sharply on Wednesday, 7 July, crossing the...
Covid-19: Official says Tunisia’s health system has collapsed
Tunisia virus situation catastrophic: health ministry Tunisia's health system has "collapsed" under the weight of the...
Morocco accelerates Covid vaccination campaign, targets prison population
Morocco has vaccinated nearly 4,000 inmates as part of a campaign launched in March to inoculate the incarcerated...
Covid-19: Tunisia PM warns of risk of collapse of health facilities, announces new restrictions
Coronavirus: Latest global developments Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis: India's rocketing...
Egypt cancels religious events amid resurgence of Covid epidemic
Egypt on Wednesday announced a partial shutdown of malls and restaurants and called off festivities for the Muslim...
MENA region more vulnerable to Covid-19 with the start of Ramadan
The World Health Organization expressed concern Wednesday that the Covid-19 pandemic could worsen in the Middle East...
Covid-19: France and Spain evacuate their citizens from Morocco
Spain and France are chartering planes and ferries to bring home thousands of their nationals stranded in Morocco...
Covid-19: Libya gets first batch of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine
Libya's interim prime minister on Sunday announced the arrival of the first batch of vaccines against Covid-19, as the...
Covid-19 in Algeria: Coping with the pandemic inside a Blida hospital
At a hospital near the Algerian capital, staff say they are "on the verge of burnout" more than a year on from the...
Tunisia: Russia to deliver first batch of 30K Sputnik V doses to Tunisia
Tunisia said Monday the first coronavirus vaccines were set to arrive to start mass inoculation in the North African...
Covid-19: Tunisians adjust burial practices to cope with the coronavirus
By Aymen Jamli - Lotfi Jlassi stood facing Mecca beside the ambulance carrying the body of his brother, who died of...
Covid-19: Algeria and Morocco start vaccination campaign
Algeria kicks off Covid-19 vaccination campaign with Sputnik V, expects first shipment of AstraZeneca vaccine Algeria...
Covid-19: Vaccination campaign begins in Egypt
Egypt began its Covid-19 immunisation program Sunday, becoming one of the first countries in Africa to vaccinate its...
Covid-19: Despite promising vaccines, worldwide deaths soar as nations face uncertainty
The worldwide death toll from coronavirus approached two million on Friday, with Europe topping 30 million infections...
Covid-19: Nigeria anticipates the rollout of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine, details sketchy
Nigerian authorities have warned on Friday against the circulation of fake coronavirus vaccines in the country, where...
Egypt: Chinese Sinopharm Covid-19 vaccine headed to Egypt, with late January rollout
Egypt has approved the use of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by Chinese pharma giant Sinopharm with its rollout to start...
Egypt: Covid-19 deaths due to shortage of oxygen in Egypt
Egypt said Sunday it had opened an investigation into the deaths of four Covid-19 patients in an intensive care unit...
Egypt: Seven patients killed in fire inside Obour hospital
A fire at a hospital north of Cairo on Saturday killed seven coronavirus patients, security and judicial sources said....
Mali: Less than two months after his release by Jihadists, opposition leader Soumaila Cisse has died of Covid-19
Malian opposition leader Soumaila Cisse has died of coronavirus aged 71, his family and party said Friday, after being...
Morocco picks Chinese Sinopharm and British AstraZeneca for upcoming Covid vaccination campaign
Morocco said Thursday it had ordered 65 million doses of novel coronavirus vaccine, as the North African kingdom...
Egypt: No New Year celebrations allowed this year in Egypt
Egypt has called off all New Year's celebrations in order to stem rising coronavirus cases in the country, Prime...
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
World leaders who got the virus A growing number of world leaders and politicians -- most recently French President...
Libyan politician Omar Garmil dies from the Coronavirus
Libyan Member of Parliament (MP) Omar Garmil has died in Morocco weeks after being infected with Covid-19, multiple...
Algeria: Recovering from Covid, President says he will return from Germany in two-to-three weeks
Algeria's President Abdelmadjid Tebboune said Sunday he was recovering from the Covid-19 illness, in his first...
Sahel: An army Colonel heads Mali’s legislative body
Mali's interim legislature on Saturday elected Colonel Malick Diaw, a member of the military junta that toppled...
Morocco says it’s serious about Covid-19 vaccination, people still doubt it
Morocco hopes to launch an ambitious vaccination campaign against the novel coronavirus by year-end, but its efforts...
In North Africa, hospitals are in a state of war
Covid assaults the MENA region Iran, Jordan and Morocco have recorded thousands of new Covid-19 infections in recent...
Coronavirus: Latest global developments
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis as of 17 November: Europe tops 15 million cases - Europe on...
Algeria: Covid upsurge prompts Algeria to impose new restrictions
Algeria imposed new coronavirus restrictions Sunday, closing sport and cultural centres as well as beaches after a...
Podcast: Covid-19 in the Maghreb region as of mid-November 2020
In this brief podcast recorded on 12 November 2020, MEA Risk's Arezki Daoud provides an update on the Coronavirus in...
Algeria: Government finally recognizes president has Covid
Algeria’s poor communications and PR skills The Algerian authorities have been so bad at communicating the illness of...
Algeria: President Tebboune’s health conditions worsen, prompts evacuation to Germany
In the evening of Wednesday, 28 October, Algerian President, Abdelmadjid Tebboune was transferred to Germany for...
Algeria: President Tebboune admitted to military hospital, authorities say ‘it’s no big deal’
First reaction by Arezki Daoud: No one goes to a hospital just to isolate The Algerian authorities want us to believe...
Tunisia: Sharp spike in Covid-19 infections prompts new curfew in Tunisia
Tunisia has reinstated curfews in several regions in recent days in a bid to rein in a sharp spike in novel...
Tunisia: Despite mandatory use of face masks, Tunisia to build field hospitals to cope with spike in Covid-19 cases
Tunisian authorities have warned that hospitals are struggling to cope with an influx of Covid-19 patients and urged...
Tunisia’s tourism sector collapses with 60% drop in earnings
Tunisia's tourism sector has collapsed, officials warned Saturday, with earnings plunging 60 percent and swathes of...
Morocco: Business sector bracing for hard times ahead ($)
The Moroccan economic sector is struggling with the effects of Covid-19. Some businesses are being punished for...
Egypt: Craving for normalcy, Egypt OKs resumption of camel racing
Desert El Tîh, Egypt - Spread out at the foot of a vast plateau in the Sinai desert, hundreds of excited Bedouins...
Morocco: The coronavirus’ destructive impact on a major city
Snake charmers, storytellers and crowds of tourists; the legendary Jamaa El Fna square of Morocco's Marrakesh is...
Egypt: Budding black market for convalescent plasma as Egypt adds it to its anti-Covid arsenal
Egypt's virus death toll approaches 6,000 Egypt has detected more than 100,000 Covid-19 infections and reported 5,541...
Morocco: Casablanca shuts down again as Covid-19 infections surge
Morocco imposed a lockdown on Casablanca and shut its schools Monday, the day pupils were due to return to classes, in...
Niger to drive UN talks on post Covid-19
United Nations, United States, Sept 1, 2020 - Niger, the current president of the UN Security Council, said Tuesday it...
Libya: Covid-19 kills Moustafa Karwad, mayor of Misrata
Tripoli, Aug 31, 2020 - The mayor of the western city of Misrata died Monday of the novel coronavirus, Libya's unity...
Morocco and Algeria turn to Russia and China for a Covid-19 vaccine
North African governments are once again relying on foreign sources to help them deal with their crises. After...
Libya: Red Cross warns of fast spreading Covid-19 cases in Libya
Coronavirus cases have skyrocketed 15-fold in Libya since June, the Red Cross said Thursday, warning this was further...
Morocco: New anti-covid measures in Casablanca and Marrakesh as infections spike
Moroccan authorities Thursday slapped tight controls on movement in Casablanca and Marrakesh, the North African...
Spread of Covid-19 accelerates in Turkey
Turkey has expressed concern over the rising number of coronavirus cases as the daily infection toll exceeded 1,000...
Europe reinstates restrictions on entry of Algerian travelers over spreading virus
Brussels, July 29, 2020 - The EU is to reimpose travel restrictions on Algeria, diplomats said Wednesday, after a...
Morocco braces for Eid al-Adha in the middle of a pandemic
Skhirat, Morocco, July 29, 2020 - Moroccan farmer Hamid had pinned his hopes on selling his sheep for the Eid al-Adha...
Mali announces reopening of air and land borders
Bamako, July 24, 2020 - Mali announced Friday that it would shortly re-open its air and land borders after a...
Sahel to get $285 million of Covid-19 aid from AfDB
The African Development Bank said Thursday it would provide $285 million in aid to Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania,...
Egypt: At least 14 inmates died from Covid-19 in Egyptian prisons
Beirut, July 20, 2020 - At least 14 prisoners have died from likely COVID-19 complications in scantly-monitored...
The seeds of future crises: More troubles for Egypt’s poor
Wandering Cairo's bustling streets, Zeinab was struggling to survive by selling tissues when the coronavirus left her...
Algeria: Former minister Moussa Benhamadi dies of Covid-19 while in prison
Algiers, July 18, 2020 - A former Algerian cabinet minister detained in a corruption case has died from the COVID-19...
Algeria: The economic cost of the Covid-19 epidemic in Algeria
Algiers, July 18, 2020- Algeria said Saturday that the coronavirus crisis on top of falling oil prices have caused...
Morocco: Second outbreak of Covid-19 forces shutdown of Tangiers
The city of about a million inhabitants was locked down from Monday at noon local time, with public transport...
New influx of migrants raises concern in Italy
The recent arrivals have sparked protests by locals in some areas, after a few dozen migrants tested positive for the...
Morocco and Algeria report record numbers of Covid-19 cases
Rabat (AFP) - Morocco reported Sunday 698 additional novel coronavirus infections, the highest one-day increase since...
WHO concerned about state of Covid-19 in MENA region
The World Health Organization warned Wednesday the Middle East faces a "critical threshold" amid a relaxation of...
Egypt: Covid patients killed in fire at hospital in Montazah district, east of Alexandria
Cairo, June 29, 2020 - A fire at a hospital in Egypt's coastal city of Alexandria on Monday killed seven coronavirus...
Algeria virus cases hit daily record
Algiers, June 26, 2020 - Algeria's health ministry said Friday it recorded 240 new COVID-19 cases the day before, the...
Egypt: Despite spike in infections, Egypt allows reopening of some public places, no hookah allowed
Cairo, June 23, 2020 - Egypt will partially reopen cafes, restaurants, places of worship, cinemas and sporting clubs...
Mixed feelings among Muslims as Saudi Arabia cancels the Hajj pilgrimage
Kuala Lumpur, June 23, 2020 - Muslims expressed disappointment Tuesday at Saudi Arabia's decision to scale back this...
As Morocco prepares to relax restrictions, virus cases spike
Rabat, June 19, 2020 - Morocco reported on Friday its highest number of confirmed novel coronavirus infections in a...
Egypt holds doctors in prison for speaking out on health crisis
Amnesty International demanded Thursday that Egypt stop its "harassment and intimidation" of frontline medics for...
Egypt’s virus infections on the rise, government maintains curfew
Egypt will extend a night-time curfew by a further two weeks in a bid to slow the spread of the coronavirus,...
Libya’s struggle to deal with Covid-19 outbreak
There has been an outbreak deep in the desert south, with dozens of cases appearing in the south's largest oasis city...
Morocco Covid-19 Charts and Data
Below are three interactive charts depicting the evolution of Covid-19 in Morocco. Please feel free to change the...
Algeria Covid-19 Charts and Data
Cumulative cases of infection of the Covid-19 virus as of 10 June 2020 in Algeria reached 10,484, an increase of 117...
Covid-19 update as of 7 June 2020
Here are the latest developments in the coronavirus crisis as of 7 June 2020. More than 400,000 deaths The pandemic...
Will Covid-19 mark the end of kissing and hugging in the Mediterranean?
May 28, 2020 (By Isabelle Ligner and Isabelle Wesselingh, photo: Anastasia Vityukova) - To greet friends and...
Algeria maintains use of chloroquine despite signs of ineffectiveness
Algiers, May 26, 2020 - Algeria will continue to use the drug hydroxychloroquine against the novel coronavirus, a...
Tunisia announces staged reopening of economic and social activity
Tunisia will reopen places of worship, restaurants and hotels from June 4, authorities announced Thursday, more than...
Egypt’s hospitals reach max capacity, struggle to cope with caseload
By Hager Harabech: Three months after Egypt reported its first novel coronavirus case, medical experts warn the...
Morocco: A population under stress, tired of confinement
Rabat, May 20, 2020 - Almost half of Moroccans are "anxious" under the mandatory lockdown enforced in mid-March to...
Algeria: Anger after pregnant doctor dies from Covid-19. She was denied maternity leave
Algiers, May 17, 2020 - The death of a pregnant Algerian doctor from the COVID-19 disease after she was denied...
Sahel: Niger seeks to restore normalcy, announces measures to ease lockdown
Niamey, May 15, 2020 - Niger's government on Friday lifted measures to isolate the capital Niamey to stem the spread...
Sahel: New Covid-19 infections in Mauritania after easing restrictions
Nouakchott, May 15, 2020 - Mauritania has said that it will reinstate restrictions on mosque prayers, after a recent...
Tunisia reports no Covid-19 infections in five days
Tunis, May 15, 2020 - Retail shops and supermarkets reopened Friday in Tunisia after the government announced zero...
Niger: Despite more border surveillance, migration flows to Europe continue
Niamey, May 10, 2020 (By Boureima Hama) - Many Africans are managing to evade coronavirus lockdown barriers in Niger,...
Tunisia: Encouraging signs in fight against Covid-19 in Tunisia
Tunis, May 11, 2020 - Tunisia on Monday urged continued vigilance against the novel coronavirus, a day after recording...
Sahel: Terror groups in Sahel exploit Covid-19 to step up attacks
United Nations, United States, May 8, 2020 - UN General Secretary Antonio Guterres has warned that jihadist groups in...
Sahel: Mali ends curfew, orders mandatory wearing of facemasks
Bamako, May 9, 2020- Mali's government said on Saturday it had lifted its nationwide curfew designed to stem...
Sahel: Mauritania lifts ban on mosque prayer
Nouakchott, May 8, 2020 - Worshippers packed Mauritania's largest mosque on Friday, mostly ignoring social distancing...
Sahel/Covid-19: Mauritania reopens for business
Nouakchott, May 7, 2020 - The West African desert state of Mauritania has scaled back two-month-old restrictions aimed...
Maghreb: A Ramadan unlike no other
Algiers, May 7, 2020 (By Abdelhafid Daamache) - North Africans say they are missing the taste of Ramadan, as...
Sahel: Chad locks down its capital to confront Covid-19
N'Djamena, May 6, 2020 - Chad's capital N'Djamena will be isolated from the rest of the country for two weeks from...
Morocco: After launching spy app, Morocco deploys surveillance drones
Rabat, May 6, 2020 - Morocco has rapidly expanded its fleet of drones as it battles the coronavirus pandemic,...
Nigeria: Covid-19 patients protest over treatment in Gombe
Kano, Nigeria, May 6, 2020 - A group of coronavirus patients staged a protest outside an isolation centre in northern...
Late in the game, Nigeria starts repatriating citizens stranded abroad
Abuja, May 6, 2020 - Nigeria on Wednesday was to start repatriating nationals stranded overseas by coronavirus travel...