Press statement by Mira Rakacolli, Deputy Minister of Health and Social Protection:

 

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.

Tests were conducted on 112 suspected individuals, out of which 27 new COVID-19 cases were confirmed in the past 24 hours.

So far, tests have been conducted on 2031 suspected cases and 304 of them 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 13 patients have recovered in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of recovered COVID-19 patients to 89.

We inform you that a total of 73 patients currently hospitalized at the infectious diseases hospital. Seven patients are under intensive care and 2 of them are inhaling through breathing tubes. The rest of the hospitalized patients remain in stable conditions.

Three patients were transported this morning for a more specialized treatment to the “Shefqet Ndroqi” University Hospital, the second Covid-19-only patient hospital in the country.

A total of four patients, two of them in assisted breathing through ventilators, are currently admitted to the “Shefqet Ndroqi” University Hospital, where the severe cases with positive covid respiratory failure will be treated.

A total of 77 coronavirus patients are currently being treated at the two university hospital centres.

The geographical distribution of the infected patients across Albania has expanded in Tirana, Durres, Fier, Kavaja, Lezha, Mirdita and Shkodra.

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

– Tirana   146 cases

– Durres   32 cases

– Lushnja  4 cases

– Elbasan 8 cases

– Fier        25 cases

– Kavaja   8 cases

– Rrogozhina 2 cases

– Korça   16 cases

– Vlora    5 cases

– Shkodra  22 cases

– Lezha      11 cases

– Berat       1 case

– Has          8 cases

– Kruja      5 cases

-Tropoja    4 cases

– Puka       4 cases

– Mirdita  3 cases

As the data show, 12 out of 27 new Covid-19 infection cases have been recorded in the north-western city of Shkodra. The new cases have been detected in two families, including a 13-year-old child and they were discovered thanks to the tracing process carried out by the epidemiologists on the ground.

The sudden significant increase in the number of new infected cases in Shkodra clearly shows the failure to respect the social distancing measures and the advices consistently recommended by the Ministry of Health.

A Public Health Institute has been deployed to conduct an epidemiological study in the area.

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.