It has also encouraged people to get vaccinated to counter the spread of the virus.

The decision by President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to shut schools starting from Thursday followed an emergency meeting of ministers, top health and security officials.

A statement from the presidency however said that it was up to the universities to determine whether to close or reschedule their classes.

The country has recorded more than 220,000 coronavirus cases and over 6,000 deaths since the pandemic began.