The death of a pregnant Algerian doctor from Covid-19 after she was denied maternity leave has sparked an uproar and prompted the dismissal of a hospital director, AFP reported.

Health minister Abderrahman Benbouzid sacked the director of the Ras El Oued hospital in eastern Algeria after Wafa Boudissa succumbed to Covid-19, a source close to the case told AFP.

The 28-year-old doctor was eight months pregnant and worked at the IC surgery unit of the hospital when she died on Friday.

She had asked the hospital chief, who was not named, for early maternity leave but he refused to let her take any time off.