Last year the office of the President of Algeria announced that the head of state had coronavirus. The announcement ended days of speculation over why the Algerian President had been hospitalized in Algiers’ health facility.
Algerian President Receives Treatment for COVID-19
The 74-year-old President, a heavy smoker, continued to receive treatment in an Algerian military hospital before going to a specialized German hospital. Days before the transfer, the President had been in self-isolation following reports of novel coronavirus cases among his aides. The head of state-contracted the disease from one of his staff’s several senior members.
But days later, the President’s office announced he had finished his treatment for COVID-19 in an undisclosed location in Germany. They added that he was undergoing further medical tests, but he was much better. The medical team accompanying the President also stated that he had completed the recommended treatment protocol and was currently undergoing medical tests in a statement of their own. However, both reports did not provide information about the President’s condition or location or when the President would return to Algeria.
For many Algerians across the country, the President’s treatment in Germany recalled the absence of former president Abdelaziz Bouteflika who suffered a stroke. The President suffered from a stroke back in 2013 and stayed in the hospital abroad for nearly three months. When President Bouteflika returned after his treatment, he appeared physically weak and never left his medicalized residence. It was evident that the President’s treatment’s after-effects would stay with him for a long while.
Revision of the Constitution of Algeria
Before Tebboune fell ill, he was preparing to take over as the President in December after winning elections replacing Abdelaziz Bouteflika. President Bouteflika got pushed out of office by pro-democracy protestors backed by a powerful army chief. As a first-order, President Tebboune called for a revision of the constitution of Algeria. He saw the move as a means to bury the mass protests movement and to boost himself.
Tebboune’s illness meant that he could not attend and participate in a referendum on November 1 as he was out of the country. But after he recovered, he returned to Algeria and thanked all those who participated in his absence. The President went on with leading his nation without any further complications for several weeks. But this week, President Tebboune found himself yet again in the hands of medical practitioners.
President in Hospital Again
This week the President went to the hospital to undergo surgery on his foot. The surgery was necessary as it would address complications resulting from his coronavirus infection. President Abdelmadjid Tebboune’s office revealed that he would receive treatment at the same facility he was in Germany. While in Germany, Tebboune had spent more than two months for treatment before returning to Algeria in December. The President’s office did not provide any other details concerning the surgery and when the President would return.
When Tebboune won elections in December 2019, he promised the people of Algeria political and economic reforms. The leader saw the reforms as a means to put an end to the mass protests in Algeria. The protests are the same ones that forced his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika to resign after two decades in power. But the President’s health problems keep halting his progression towards making a better Algeria, which has started worrying Algerians.
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