Health of Covid-19-positive Algeria president Tebboune 'improving'

The health of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, who contracted the Covid-19 disease, is "constantly improving", the presidency said Sunday in a statement.

Tebboune, who is 74 and a heavy smoker, has been treated in a specialised hospital in Germany since October 28.

The president "is in the process of completing his treatment... and his state of health is constantly improving", the statement said.

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Tebboune was transferred from a hospital in the Algerian capital Algiers to Germany shortly after going into self-isolation following reports of novel coronavirus cases among his aides.

He was admitted to "one of the largest specialised hospitals in Germany" to undergo "in-depth medical examinations", the presidency added.

The president's illness meant he was out of the country for a referendum last Sunday on a revised constitution seen as aimed at burying a mass protest movement and boosting Tebboune, elected president on a record low turnout last December.

The constitutional referendum, which passed with two-thirds of the vote, saw participation plunge to new lows with just 23.7 percent of registered voters casting ballots, according to official data.