COVID-19 pandemic in Albania

The COVID-19 pandemic is occurring in Albania as part of the global COVID-19 pandemic that started in China in December 2019. The COVID-19 pandemic affects the novel disease COVID-19 . This is caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus from the Coronaviridae group and belongs to the group of respiratory diseases . From March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) classified the outbreak of the novel coronavirus as a global pandemic .

Despite the relatively low number of infections at first, measures against the spread of the virus that were described as relatively serious were imposed in Albania in mid-March, since a total of only 150 beds with ventilators were available in the country's intensive care units .

course

On March 8, 2020, Albania confirmed its first two COVID-19 cases. As of March 29, 2020, 212 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Albania. The death toll rose to ten by March 29.

activities

A national curfew was imposed on March 9, with a complete ban on going out on Sundays. On working days, access to basic services was limited to one hour a day for one person in a household. In order to be able to obtain an exit permit, an application process was set up via the “e-albania” app, but its servers initially failed after the curfew was tightened due to too many requests. There is a curfew without exception for people in retirement. Their supply was organized by government agencies and voluntary helpers. The opening times for grocery stores, supermarkets and gas stations have been restricted to 5 a.m. to 1 p.m. on weekdays.

Albania closed its borders with neighboring countries and stopped air and ferry traffic as far as possible. An entry ban was imposed on foreigners. On March 13, initially limited to March 15, a driving ban for private vehicles was imposed in the cities of Tirana , Durrës , Shkodra , Lezha , Elbasan , Lushnje , Fier and Vlora . In Tirana and Durrës, bus services were also suspended. The school was closed and instead of the regular television program the lessons were transferred as live broadcasts to the public television RTSH .

statistics

See also : COVID-19 pandemic / statistics (worldwide)

Definitions

The World Health Organization uses the following terms, some of which are related to one another, when providing statistical data.

Suspected case

The World Health Organization defines suspected cases as people who

• meet at least one of the clinical criteria below and at the same time at least one of the epidemiological criteria below
• or have severe, acute respiratory disease

Clinical Criteria:

• Acute onset of fever and cough at the same time
• Acute onset of at least three of the following symptoms: fever, cough, general weakness / fatigue, headache , muscle pain , sore throat , rhinitis , shortness of breath , loss of appetite / nausea / vomiting , diarrhea , altered mental state

Epidemiological criteria:

• Staying or working in an area with a high risk of transmission (e.g. closed residential areas, humanitarian facilities (e.g. displaced persons' camps and similar facilities)) at any time within the 14 days preceding the onset of symptoms
• Staying or traveling in an area with extensive local transmission at any time within the 14 days preceding the onset of symptoms
• Work in health care at any time within the 14 days preceding the onset of symptoms (including work in health care facilities or households)

Probable case

According to the definition of the World Health Organization, a likely case is:

• who fulfills the clinical criteria of suspected cases (see above) and has either had contact with a person who is considered a probable or confirmed case or can be epidemiologically assigned to a cluster in which there is at least one confirmed case
• or who is considered suspect case (so), if, in addition to the finding of an imaging method (eg. chest X-ray , thoracic CT or lung sonography ) on COVID-19 indicating
• or anyone who has recently had a loss of smell or taste , unless other reasons can be identified
• or who dies as an adult after previous breathlessness that cannot be explained in any other way and has either had contact with a person who is considered a probable or confirmed case or can be epidemiologically assigned to a cluster in which there is at least one confirmed case

Confirmed case

As defined by the World Health Organization, a confirmed case is a person with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 infection; regardless of the presence of any symptoms. The number of confirmed cases should not be equated with the number of positive test results; repeated tests of the same person (with a positive laboratory result) are possible.

Death

The World Health Organization defines COVID-19 deaths as cases that result from a clinically compatible disease, provided the patient was previously considered a probable or confirmed case ( see above ). However, this does not apply to deaths with clearly identifiable alternative causes of death that are not related to COVID-19 (e.g. trauma ), as well as deaths after a person previously suffering from COVID-19 has recovered completely.

Confirmed cases

Confirmed cases (cumulative) in Albania
according to WHO data

Confirmed cases (daily) in Albania
according to WHO data

Deaths

Confirmed deaths (cumulative) in Albania
according to WHO data

Confirmed deaths (daily) in Albania
according to WHO data

Remarks

1. ↑ ^{a b c d} Cases reported to WHO by national authorities are listed here. Since the situation is very dynamic, there may be discrepancies or delays between the cases of the WHO and the data of national authorities as well as the information provided by other bodies, such as the Johns Hopkins University (CSSE).
2. ↑ ^{a b c d} Since August 16, 2020, the WHO has only published aggregated weekly data.

See also

• List of epidemics and pandemics
• List of deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic

Web links

Commons : COVID-19 Pandemic in Albania  - Pictures, Videos and Audio Files Collection

• Current coronavirus case numbers and data on albanien.ch (German, English, Albanian)
• Johns Hopkins CSSE : Coronavirus COVID-19 Global Cases. (English)
• Site World of Meters : real-time data of the Corona virus pandemic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Pulmonologists on the net: Covid-19: Causes . Online at www.lungenaerzte-im-netz.de. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
2. ↑ Tagesschau: "Deeply worried". WHO speaks of corona pandemic . March 11, 2020. Online at www.tagesschau.de. Retrieved April 14, 2020.
3. ↑ ^{a b} Studio Wien-ARD Studio Wien: Coronavirus in Southeast Europe and Austria 13/03/20. March 13, 2020, accessed April 4, 2020 (German). 
4. ↑ Matthias Rüb, Rome: Curfew in Albania: You can only go outside with an app . In: FAZ.NET . ISSN  0174-4909 ( faz.net [accessed April 4, 2020]).
5. ↑ ^{a b c d e f} Public health surveillance for COVID-19. (PDF; 356 kB) Interim guidance 7 August 2020. WHO, 7 August 2020, accessed on 31 August 2020 (English).  
6. ↑ ^{a b c d} Coronavirus disease (COVID-2019) situation reports. WHO, accessed August 31, 2020 .