” there’s nobody in the cemeteries this Eid, but apparently people are determined to fill it. “Ahmed, the plumber of the district, is in the mood for a philosopher this morning of the Eid-el-Fitr, observing his neighbours grouped in clusters of ten or fifteen people in their beautiful qamis (traditional dress) or casual athlete cigarette and coffee in hand. It is true that, contrary to the tradition of the feast of the end of ramadan fasting, we avoid the hugs and the hugs are warm, ” but still, regroup, and without distance itself is not really wise “, plague Ahmed. Here and there, on a bike or glued to their smartphones, teenagers draw out nothing but the time-pandemic with their jokes and their energy. But they are more willing to wear a protective mask, which has become a kind of fashion.
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Mask required
Yes, strange Eid 2020 with the new government measures, and this gloomy atmosphere that the greyness of the sky algiers-emphasized. During these 48 hours, on Sunday and Monday, the authorities have decreed a total ban on the movement of vehicles, cars and motorcycles, and have moved the cursor to the curfew at 13 hours instead of 17 hours for the month of ramadan, and 15 hours before the holy month. More visits to the family or to the cemeteries as is the tradition, it will only be for the wishes of Eid by phone.
Saturday evening, the president Abdelmadjid Tebboune, has called on the Algerians, especially the youth, ” to be patient in the face to the effort that still remains to provide and to interact positively with preventive measures exceptional during the two days of Eid “. “My mother has decided not to receive person in it, but an uncle came with his two sons, they were masked, but they wanted to kiss even when. He had to overcome the embarrassment and tell them direct that there, no, not possible “, tells the story of the telephone Lamia, a student living in Alger-centre.
The port of the mask : this is something with which the Algerians will have to get used to avoid falling now under the purview of the act. The port of the mask is rendered mandatory from the first day of the Eid (Sunday may 24) in “all the spaces are opened or closed, receiving the public, especially the public institutions and administrations, public services, facilities services, and places of trade,” according to a decree. Criminal prosecutions are even planned against the offenders.
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The danger of family groupings
on Friday, Prime minister Abdelaziz Djerad was called to succeed the ” challenge of the mask “, whose prices have been capped by the authorities. To the members of the scientific committee in charge of monitoring the outbreak of coronavirus, Djerad has stated that Algeria has managed two ” grand challenges “. The first is the ” screening tests “, and the second is the ” treatment with chloroquine “, adding : “Now, to help you to succeed in the challenge of the mandatory wearing of the mask. “The ministry of Health has announced that 5 million of masks from the stock of PCH (central Pharmacy of hospitals)” will be distributed for free to Algiers and Blida, the two wilayas (departments) most affected by the epidemic. The crafts sector is also put in the loop of vendors promising a daily production of 500 000 masks, or even a million. “The result of the investigations made in certain regions, we found that the appearance of some homes was related to situations of family reunification. This is the case, for example, during evenings or death, to which, by tradition, families set up a tent where people discuss around a cup of tea. But does anyone know who carries or not the virus, “explained the Health minister Abderrahmane Bouzid to the site Health Algeria :” It is for this reason that we put great emphasis on the wearing of the mask. “
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The summer under bell ?
For its part, the journal Algerie Patriotique indicates that ” since the beginning of ramadan, more than 3 800 cases have been detected across the country with nearly a hundred deaths. But the containment does not seem to be a sustainable solution. Hence a commitment to work to prepare the déconfinement that will be progressive, and with the obligation to wear the mask of protection “. A déconfinement for the summer ? “Not before a substantial decline in numbers of contamination, and the generalization of a mask-wearing,” says an official source at the Point Africa. Some beaches are even already prohibited to the public of health-resort visitors : a taste of the tourist season which promises to be bitter, even if the openings were announced by countries in the south of Europe for the summer to give a little hope to those who want a change of air.
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“Qahwa bla sôkkôr”
But, for the moment, ” the Algerians and foreigners in Algeria, holders of Schengen visas are still not allowed to travel. The borders of Algeria and the european Union remain in effect closed until further notice, ” recalls the information website TSA. Air France will increase as early as Tuesday, the pace of its routes Algiers-Paris (four per day), but only to ” repatriate people still stranded in Algeria, because of the crisis of the sars coronavirus “.
on The evening of Sunday, Algeria has recorded 8 new death of the Covid-19 over the past 24 hours (compared to 10 the previous day), bringing to 600 the number of deaths in the country since the beginning of the pandemic. The number of infections has increased to 193 cases for a total of 8 306 confirmed cases. The country is 4 578 cases of healing since the beginning of the epidemic, and 14 of 776 patients under treatment.
That same evening of Sunday, the city is drowning in its own silence under the sky, which is heading into its gloom. The taste of Eid is not persists that the sweet overtones of the beautiful cakes algiers and pride of cheeky kids showing henna on their hands. And yet. “Qahwa bla sôkkôr (coffee without sugar),” says Ahmed the plumber / philosopher in speaking of this Eid. Necessary, but so bitter. “
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