Algeria registered on Wednesday seven new cases of the coronavirus, bringing the country’s total to 67. The country has reported five deaths from the virus. On Tuesday, President Abdelmadjid Tebboune reassured the people that the situation was under control. “There is no need to panic. We are protected due to the preventative measures we have taken since mid-February,” he said. Tebboune also banned street protests over the coronavirus and in a bid to end a year of unprecedented mass demonstrations that brought down the veteran president and convulsed the state. “The lives of citizens are above all considerations even if this requires restricting some freedoms,” he said in a televised address. It was not immediately clear if all protesters would agree to suspend their movement. One, school teacher Mohamed Hachimi, said the demonstrations would not stop. “The system is trying to use coronavirus as an argument to end our revolution. Tebboune and his men will fail because marches will continue,” he said, according to Reuters. The protest movement, known as the Hirak, exploded onto the streets in February 2019 as it became clear that octogenarian leader Abdelaziz Bouteflika would seek another term as president after 20 years in the job. Demonstrators quickly moved from demanding he step aside to insisting that the entire ruling elite that had run Algeria since independence from France in 1962 must also quit. In April, as hundreds of thousands of people continued to march through the streets of major cities, Bouteflika gave in. With Bouteflika out of power, the authorities began detaining many of his closest allies on corruption charges in the biggest purge of the ruling class for decades, but the protesters viewed the reforms as cosmetic and would not yield. As the coronavirus arrived in North Africa this month, some protesters said they would no longer march for the sake of public health, though thousands still took to the streets. Now, they face both a pandemic and police opposition. “I think Tebboune said something reasonable. Health is our top priority in these circumstances,” said Djamel Aziz, a student who has been marching every week. Tunisia curfew Neighboring Tunisia will, meanwhile, impose a curfew from 6 pm to 6 am starting Wednesday with the army patrolling the streets, the country’s president said on Tuesday, tightening the measures to counter the spread of the coronavirus. Tunisia, which has declared 24 cases of the virus, closed mosques, cafes and markets, closed its land borders and suspended international flights. President Kais Saied, who was elected last year, also asked Tunisians to stay at home and avoid moving during daylight hours. Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh on Monday urged citizens to respect the measures the government was already taking to limit public gatherings in a bid to stop the virus from spreading. Israeli restrictions on Palestinians Israel closed off Palestinian-administered areas of the occupied West Bank on Wednesday to limit the spread of the coronavirus, an official said. "From today, a closure has taken place in the West Bank," said Yotam Shefer, who heads the international department of COGAT, the Israeli military body responsible for civilian affairs in the Palestinian territories. He told journalists the decision had been taken in conjunction with the Palestinian government, based in Ramallah. The border crossing with the Gaza Strip has been closed in recent days and will remain so, Shefer added. Around 70,000 Palestinians in the West Bank work in Israel, crossing back and forth daily. They now have three days to either enter permanently for the coming months or remain in the West Bank, the Palestinian government announced Tuesday night. Palestinians who work in Jewish settlements in the West Bank will still be allowed to cross over daily, Shefer said. Around 400,000 Israelis live in settlements in the West Bank, communities considered illegal under international law. Forty-four Palestinians and 427 Israelis have been infected, but no deaths have been registered so far.