Johannesburg – Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune was flown back to Germany on Sunday for treatment in hospital after suffering complications in his foot caused by Covid-19.
Asharq Al-Awsat News reported that the 75-year-old had returned home two weeks ago from Germany after two months of treatment for the coronavirus.
In a statement seen by the publication, the Presidency said the treatment of the complications were not urgent.
Tebboune decided to postpone the treatment because of various obligations that prompted him to return home on December 29.
France24 reported that the president had spoken briefly upon his return, wishing a happy new year to all Algerians, and was much better than in 2020, implying that he was almost cured of the virus.
Asharq Al-Awsat News spoke to a public hospital medic who said that Tebboune’s habit of heavy smoking likely triggered a case of deep-vein thrombosis in his leg.
The physician also said the reason the president spent more than 60 days abroad being treated for the coronavirus, which is much longer than the average period, was due to complications in his lungs.
In its latest update, Algeria has reported 102 144 Covid-19 cases. The North African country has also recorded 69 212 recoveries and 2 807 deaths to date.
Tebboune won a boycotted presidential election in December 2019, following months of mass protests that had swept his predecessor Abdelaziz Bouteflika from office.
Mass protests broke out in early 2019 against Bouteflika's bid for a fifth term in office.
African News Agency (ANA)