Casablanca Emerges as COVID-19 Hotspot in Morocco, Experts Seek Answers

The debate allowed doctors and epidemiologists to answer many questions that the population is asking about the multiplication of contamination cases despite the many measures taken by the authorities. According to Driss Benhima, vice-president of the Association, the inhabitants need to understand what is happening in order to know where they stand.

For his part, Prof. Abderrahman Maâroufi, epidemiologist and CEO of the Pasteur Institute, said that "the explosion of cases in Casablanca can be explained by several factors, including high density and population mixing, mobility and above all non-compliance with distancing rules". He specifies that the cases exploded just after Eid, reports l’Économiste.

The epidemiologist Jaâfar Heikel explained that "the situation in Casablanca is not serious, but serious". He will be joined in his point of view by Chafik El Kettani, director of the Ibn Rochd University Hospital. "In Casablanca, hospital facilities are under pressure, but not overwhelmed," he assures. According to him "half of the deaths are due to other pathologies such as stroke, cancer, diabetes, hypertension".

For his part, the Director General of the Pasteur Institute stressed that Casablanca must learn from Moroccan cities that have effectively managed the pandemic. He cites as an example the Tanger-Tétouan-Al Hoceïma region which was in an identical situation but has managed to reverse the trend, the same source specifies.