Communication of Mira Rakacolli, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection:

Tests were conducted on 145 suspected individuals, out of which 20 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours.

So far, tests have been conducted on 1671 people and a total of 243 people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus.

Two COVID-19 patients died in the last 24 hours in the infectious diseases hospital, an 82-year-old woman from Tirana who passed away last night and a 62-year-old man from Durres, who died on Tuesday morning, bringing the total number of fatalities in Albania to 13. Both of them had underlying health conditions.

The Ministry of Health extends condolences to the families of the deceased.

We inform that a total of 77 patients are currently hospitalized at the infectious diseases hospital. Eight patients are under intensive care and three of them are inhaling through breathing tubes. The rest of the hospitalized patients remain in stable conditions. Meanwhile, another patient has been admitted in “Shefqet Ndroqi” University Hospital, the second Covid-19-only patient hospital in the country.

The good news is that eight patients who previously tested positive for the coronavirus have recovered in the past 24 hours bringing the total number of the recovered people to 52.

Currently, the geographical distribution of the infected patients across Albania has further expanded in Tirana, Durres, Shkodra, Mirdita and Korça, in addition to more discovered cases about which epidemiological tests are being carried out, while epidemiologists are working intensively on tracing the contacts of the positive cases in a bid to break chain of the infection transmission.

The geographical distribution of the infected patients across Albania is as follows:

Tirana 129 cases

Durres 26 cases

Lushnje 4 cases

Elbasan 5 cases

Fier 23 cases

Kavaja 4 cases

Rrogozhina 2 cases

Korça 15 cases

Vlora 5 cases

Shkodra 8 cases

Lezha 5 cases

Berat 1 case

Has 2 cases

Kruja 5 cases

Tropoja 4 cases

Puka 3 cases

Mirdita 2 cases

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection once again urges citizens to respect the social distancing measures as the only way to successfully cope with this challenge! The Ministry of Health appeals citizens to dial the National Emergency Line 127 if they suspect about COVID-19 symptoms.