Algeria’s president ‘stable’ after being hospitalised in Germany for coronavirus complications

Algeria's president underwent medical tests in a German hospital and is in a stable condition, officials said on Thursday, days after suspected coronavirus cases were reported among his aides.

President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, 74, was transferred on Wednesday to Germany for treatment from an Algerian hospital.

His office said he "underwent thorough medical tests in one of Germany's largest specialised hospitals" and is in "a stable" condition.

"The medical team says that the results of the tests are reassuring," his office added in a statement.

The president "has begun to receive the required treatment", it said, without giving further details.

Tebboune's transfer to Germany came after officials on Saturday said he had "voluntarily" gone into self-isolation for five days amid reports several officials in the presidency and government had contracted the Covid-19 disease.

On Tuesday, Tebboune, a heavy smoker, was admitted into a "specialised care unit" in a military hospital in Algeria's capital.

His hospitalisation comes ahead of a referendum to be held on Sunday on constitutional reforms.

The vote is a flagship initiative of Tebboune and has been heralded by his government as the beginning of a “new republic”, but it has been dismissed by the Hirak popular protest movement it was designed to satisfy.

Read more: Algeria's Hirak protest movement is gearing up for a comeback

Algeria has seen a resurgence in novel coronavirus cases in recent weeks.

More than 57,300 infections have been recorded in the country of 44 million people, including 1,949 deaths.