TIRANA – Differently from the other routine daily medical bulletins on coronavirus epidemics on Thursday it was the Health Minister, Ogerta Manastirliu herself who released it from the podium of Parliament informing deputies that the there were only seven new Covid-19 cases during the last 24 hours.
The total number of people affected by the virus stands at 773 and out of this number 470 patients have recovered since the outbreak of the pandemic on March 9 this year in Albania, according to her evidence.
“It means that we are still in the active phase of the epidemic, although we are actively investigating where there are hotspots. Today we found 100 active hotspots, mainly families and workplaces. We are doing uninterrupted work 24/7 to break the chain of coronavirus,” said the chief health authority, who is also a lawmaker of the ruling Socialist Party.
But the cautionary picture presented in the above sentence was followed by optimism expressed in the following paragraph of her speech: “The first phase has passed. We are heading for reopening, as we have had consultations with foreign and domestic experts. We must not reduce the measure of social distancing.”
However, it is heartbreaking that since the start of the seventh week of the pandemic there have been fatalities every day as it happened on Thursday morning.
“A 71-year-old man with the initials B. S. from Shkodra, who was in serious conditions for 1 month, passed away bringing the total number of deaths to 31,” said the health ministry in its announcement.
“The Ministry of Health and Social Protection expresses its condolences to the family of the deceased and appeals to citizens to strictly observe the physical distancing measures, as they are decisive for curbing the spread of COVID-19,” said the Ministry.
