A mysterious illness appears out of nowhere. The number of cases rises exponentially, as the authorities attempt to downplay the severity of the disease. There is a shortage of medical staff, equipment and arguments about whether people should wear masks. People are forbidden to leave their homes and many are left stranded in unfamiliar places, separated from loved ones.

This edition of Crossing Continents revisits Oran in the age of the coronavirus and investigates the parallels between now and then. For the time being, it seems the pandemic has achieved something the authorities have tried but failed to do for the past year – clear the streets of protestors. Lucy Ash investigates Algeria’s plague of authoritarianism and finds that the government has been using Covid 19 as an excuse to crack down harder on dissent.

Reporter: Lucy Ash