Algeria is running out of coronavirus tests

Algeria is facing an acute shortage of coronavirus tests as the virus spreads exponentially among its citizens making the number of confirmed cases a tiny tip of a giant Covid-19 iceberg.

Already one of the countries with least tests on the African continent, people taking Coronavirus checks have to wait up to 15 days for results.

Pasteur institute in Algiers has already run out of such collection kits, according to Algerian media TSA Algerie.

Coronavirus tests in Algeria may cost up to €80 and the price is expected to rise as such tests get harder to find.

Algeria is clearly lagging behind compared to its neighbor Morocco where more than 20,000 tests are conducted daily.

Officially, Algeria counted 25,484 cases. But experts estimate the number to be much higher citing not enough tests.

Algeria has also suffered one of the highest Covid-19 mortality rates in North Africa with 1124 people who succumbed to the virus.

The anarchic management of the Covid-19 outbreak, lack of masks, and failure to impose strict lockdowns have also led to resentment by the population, which in some cases took doctors as scapegoats.

Many cases of violence against medics have been reported in local media.