A Palestinian man has died of coronavirus in Algeria and five others tested positive for the fatal virus, reported the Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Ministry on Sunday.

The Ministry said in a statement that a Palestinian succumbed to the disease in Algeria, raising the total deaths among Palestinians there to nine. Four other Palestinians in Algeria contracted the virus.

At the same time, a staff member of the Palestinian Embassy in Albania contracted the virus. The embassy shut its doors to carry out disinfection.

So far, the disease has claimed the lives of 428 Palestinians in the diaspora while another 13,366 Palestinians have contracted the virus since the outbreak of the pandemic.

Hundreds of Palestinian refugees who have reached Algeria have been living in distress due to their squalid humanitarian conditions.

Dozens of Palestinian families have been sheltered in Algeria’s Sidi Faraj camp, near the capital city Algiers, where they have been denied access to the local labor market and to humanitarian aid.

The refugees have reportedly been sheltered in ramshackle caravans. Poor hygiene and lack of ventilation have caused many infections and skin diseases.
Algerian authorities have also suspended naturalization procedures for Algerian-born Palestinian refugees and prevented scores of them from residence permits and property ownership.