Press statement by Public Health Institute official Rovena Daja:

A 78-year-old man from Durres has died of complications after being infected by the coronavirus in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of COVID-19-related deaths in Albania to 16. 9 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered COVID-19 patients to 76.

As part of the daily coronavirus briefing, we inform you that work is underway on the ground to identify new COVID-19 cases and trace contacts of the cases tested positive for the virus.

Epidemiologists at every local healthcare unit from north to south have been deployed in the ground and are doing incredible job in providing real time data on the contacts after verifying suspected COVID-19 cases.

We inform you that a 78-year-old patient from Durres who previously tested positive for the coronavirus died this morning. The 78-year-old man was intubated for three days and unfortunately he couldn’t make it despite the efforts of the medical personnel.

The Ministry of Health and Social Protection extends condolences to the family of the deceased.

A total of 16 COVID-19-related deaths have been recorded to date in Albania.

Tests were conducted on 96 suspected individuals, out of which 18 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours.

So far, tests have been conducted on 1919 suspected cases and 277 of them, including 8 children, have tested positive for the COVID-19. The average age of people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 is 50 years.

The good news is that 9 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered COVID-19 patients to 76.

Nine members of the medical personnel underwent test and they all tested negative for the virus.

A total of 81 patients are currently hospitalized at the infectious diseases hospital.  Eight patients are under intensive care and 4 of them are inhaling through breathing tubes. The rest of the hospitalized patients remain in stable conditions. Meanwhile, one patient is being treated at “Shefqet Ndroqi” University Hospital, the second Covid-19-only patient hospital in the country.

Currently, the geographical distribution of the infected patients across Albania has further expanded in Tirana, Durres, Kavaja, Lezha, Has, Elbasan, Shkodra, and Puka, 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          143 cases

– Durres          30 cases

– Lushnja        4 cases

– Elbasan         8 cases

– Fier                23 cases

– Kavaja          6 cases

– Rrogozhina  2 cases

– Korça            16 cases

– Vlora             5 cases

– Shkodra        10 cases

– Lezha             6 cases

– Berat             1 case

– Has                 8 cases

– Kruja               5 cases

-Tropojë            4 cases

– Puka               4 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.