Algeria reopens mosques, beaches after 5-month lockdown

ALGIERS, Algeria (AP) — Algeria is reopening its mosques, cafes, beaches and parks for the first time in five months. Curfews remain in place in more than half the country and masks are required everywhere outdoors as Algeria tries to keep virus infections down. But authorities decided to start reopening public places including restaurants and mosques that can hold more than 1,000 people and ensure social distancing measures. Crowds packed beaches Saturday in the capital Algiers, celebrating the opportunity to swim in the Mediterranean Sea amid the August heat. Algeria has reported more than 37,000 virus infections and 1,350 deaths, the third-highest death rate reported in Africa after South Africa and Egypt.