Algeria’s secretive presidency confirmed Wednesday that the mysterious illness that caused President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to be hospitalized in Germany last month was the coronavirus.

The presidency said that the state of 74-year-old Tebboune’s health is “gradually improving” and he “continues to receive treatment in a specialized German hospital after contracting COVID-19.”

It was the first time that officials explicitly mentioned COVID-19 in connection with the Oct. 28 hospitalization. They previously referred to it as being “care in a specialized structure,” without identifying the ailment.

Prior to his hospitalization, several senior officials in the president’s entourage had developed COVID-19 symptoms, and Tebboune had been placed in what the government called “voluntary preventive confinement.” But it was initially unclear if Tebboune’s current state was connected.

(AP)