Algeria's president hospitalized in Germany for COVID-19

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune is receiving treatment for the coronavirus in a German hospital, but his condition is improving, the presidency said on Tuesday. 

Tebboune “continues to receive treatment in a specialized German hospital after catching the COVID-19 illness,” his office said in a statement carried by the state news agency. "The medical team is reassured that the president is responding to treatment and gradually recovering."

Tebboune flew to Germany last week after several of his aides reportedly tested positive for the virus. The septuagenarian leader is reportedly a heavy smoker. 

His illness comes as Algeria is grappling with an uptick in coronavirus cases, with health officials on Tuesday reporting 405 new infections and nine deaths. Since Algeria’s first case in February, the North African county of 44 million has registered more than 55,000 cases and nearly 2,000 deaths from the virus.