Algeria shuts schools for 10 days as COVID infections surge

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria’s president has ordered all schools closed for 10 days because of a surge of COVID-19 infections in the North African country.  Algeria has also tightened rules for entering the country through its airports. Algeria reported 1,359 new omicron cases on Wednesday alone. The president has urged health authorities to establish a “robust testing structure.” In December, Algeria started requiring a vaccine passport to enter many public venues, seeking to boost the country’s low inoculation rate and overcome vaccine hesitancy that has left millions of vaccines unused. Less than a quarter of Algeria’s population has had even one vaccine dose.