Algeria Announces First Confirmed Corona Case

Hours ago, Algeria has announced a first confirmed case of coronavirus, carried by an Italian who arrived in the country on February 17th and was quarantined.

"The government and all the health authorities in the country have been directed to exercise utmost care and caution," Algerian President Abdel Majid Tebboune said on Twitter. He urged Algerians to be alert and cautious about the information they share on on the Internet.

Northern Italy, which includes a large number of Algerians, was one of the centers of the virus outbreak, with more than 280 cases reported and 11 deaths recorded. The ENI-based energy company is also involved in projects in Algeria.

In Iran, tests showed that the Deputy Minister of Health and a member of parliament caught the coronavirus infection, while the total number of deaths there due to the virus had risen to 16, as the Iranians felt a policy of obfuscation about the spread of the virus.

Iran recorded the highest death toll from the virus outside China, where the disease occurred in December, and killed more than 2,600 people.

"The tests have proven that I have corona ... I do not have much hope to stay in this world," said Mahmoud Sadiqi, a member of parliament, from Tehran, on Twitter.

The Iranian Deputy Minister of Health was also infected, and announced it via an online video posted by official media. 95 people were confirmed holder of corona across Iran.

Meanwhile, White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow said that US public health officials are preparing for any possibility related to the impact of the Corona virus in the United States, adding that the virus has been contained in the country so far.

"It has been tightly contained in the United States," Kudlow said in an interview with CNBC, adding that any such contingency planning does not mean that the outbreak will occur in the United States.