The street demonstrations in Algiers and other cities take place on Fridays and Tuesdays, and protesters are watching to see whether a global epidemic will do what the ruling authorities have failed to achieve, and quell a year of mass protests.
On Thursday, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered schools and universities to close after health authorities said the number of confirmed Coronavirus cases had risen to 24 with one person dead.
The government has already decreed measures to stop the disease spreading, including a ban on spectators at sports events, and on political, social and cultural gatherings.
However, the authorities have not said whether this includes the mass protests that have taken place in Algiers and other cities since early 2019, forcing out veteran president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.
The leaderless protest movement – known as Hirak – has also brought down many powerful officials with its demands for the removal of the governing elite, the withdrawal of the army from politics and an end to corruption.
However, it could not prevent an election in December to elect a new president, though it opposed any vote before the ruling hierarchy quit. The winner, Tebboune, formed a government in January.
Protester Mourad Amrani, 27, said the movement was not ready to back down.
“Hirak must continue until the system is uprooted, and it has not been yet. If we stop now, the system will be re-born. I understand there is a risk from Coronavirus, but I will march tomorrow,” the taxi driver said.
