Albania sees surge in coronavirus cases, warns of 'fire zone'

Albania reported 27 new cases of the coronavirus on Friday, its second-biggest daily surge, and ordered a third 40-hour lockdown over the weekend to halt the spread of the highly contagious pathogen that has killed 17 in the country so far.

Albania had reported it largest single day of confirmed cases on March 26 with 28. After declaring the coronavirus a natural calamity, Albania extended the shutdown of any activity, its borders, businesses, and transport, except for a few essential industries during an eight-hour daily window, until the end of the coronavirus epidemic.

A dozen of the 27 fresh coronavirus cases in the Balkan state of 2.8 million was traced to two families in the northern town of Shkoder, causing alarm and renewed calls for people to stay inside to avoid infection. "The increase in cases in Shkoder shows once again the lack of social distancing and measures to prevent infections that we recommend daily," said deputy health minister Mira Rakacolli.

Rakacolli said 304 Albanians were now infected with the coronavirus, 17 had died, 89 had recovered and 77 were hospitalized with the COVID-19 respiratory illness caused by the virus. Four of those hospitalized required breathing assistance while the others were stable. The average age of those infected with the coronavirus was 50.

"We have entered the fire zone and face an enemy eager to grab more lives," an alarmed Prime Minister Edi Rama said. He repeats daily in chats on Facebook, drawing criticism that he is ruling from there, the motto "resist to exist" to Albanians weary of staying inside and worrying that abstaining from work will ruin the economy and their incomes.

"The economy goes down and comes up again, but the dead do not come back to life," he said, urging Albanians, among one of the poorest people in Europe, to adopt it as a fresh motto. Despite calls from the opposition and the president to allow in scores of Albanians stuck in the no-land zone with Greece and Montenegro, Rama was adamant nobody would be allowed in unless they wanted the country to be hit beyond its capabilities.

Skender Brataj, the head of the health emergency center who is infected with the coronavirus but works from home, said the number of distress calls had halved from its March 14 peak. Besides the infectious diseases hospital, which treats 73 patients, a second one treating two patients also admitted two seriously ill patients in need of assisted breathing on Friday.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)