Edi Rama

A patient being sent to the Shefqet Ndroqi Hospital for Lung Diseases in Tirana on Sunday. Photo: Malton Dibra/LSA

Prime Minister Edi Rama said that anyone who complains about the heavy fines should understand that the penalties are "not [meant] to collect money for the state, but to protect the people from violations that threaten their health in this war situation".

Albanian mobile phone users have unexpectedly received a recorded message from the Prime Minister, advising them on how to protect themselves from the coronavirus - and the media.

"Wash your hands, don't move from your house for pleasure, open windows as much as you can, protect yourself from the media," the message from Edi Rama said.

Albania reported its first death from coronavirus on Wednesday, an elderly patient who was being treated for pneumonia for the last five days after returning home from Italy.

"The 73-old-patient, a confirmed case of COVID-19, passed away a few minutes ago as result of complications from cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases," the Health Ministry said in a statement.

Bulgaria's and Albania's common aim is to achieve security, stability and prosperity in the Balkans. To this end, we should show solidarity and compassion in hard times such as the time of the devastating earthquake in Durres.

Alleged Gulenist Selami Simsek was held in an Albanian police van without official insignia near the interior ministry on Monday evening. Photo: Gjergj Erebara/BIRN

Albania Prime Minister Edi Rama on March 5, 2020, defending his proposal in parliament. Photo: Malton Dibra/LSA

The law, technically called a Normative Act, implying a law undertaken under extraordinary circumstances, received 89 votes for and 17 against.

A passenger being checked at Tirana airport amid fears of the spread of the coronavirus, on February 24 2020. Photo: LSA

Prosecutors said they suspected fearful messages were being spread mainly through WhattsApp.

The prosecutor's announcement on Monday followed an eruption of coronavirus cases in nearby Italy, a country with which Albania has multiple links.

The Association of Journalists of Kosovo, AJK, has criticised Albania's Prime Minister Edi Rama for posting his agreement on Facebook with an Albanian academic who has accused Kosovo media outlets of spreading hate speech against Albania.

Albanian Acting Foreign and European Affairs Minister Gent Cakaj said he had proposed to Pristina to launch a campaign to recognize the unilaterally declared Kosovo state through joint funding.

Photo: European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama in Brussels on 17 February 2020. Photo: European Commission/Twitter

Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said the aid toll was "beyond our wildest imagination."