New COVID-19 Cluster Emerges at Moroccan Fish Factory Amid Reopening

The cluster was formed when the first case was recorded on Friday, June 19 in this fish canning factory, called Damsa, belonging to the Copelit group, founded and chaired by the Istiqlali businessman Hassan Sentissi El Idrissi.

According to the officials, the health measures are nevertheless respected within the unit, in particular the respect of physical distancing. To comply with this crucial measure, the group has restricted its workforce. From 1,000 employees initially, the DAMSA cannery has gone down to 600 people divided into two teams.

As soon as the first case appeared in a woman in the unit, the shift team remained confined within the factory for two days. All employees were subjected to the screening test. At the end of this campaign, 57% of the people who underwent the test were positive out of 300 employees, i.e. 172 confirmed cases, according to the top management of the cannery, quoted by Le360.

At the end of these tests, the 300 members of this team were placed in isolation in two hotels in Foum El Oued, under health control. As for the accommodation costs, they are borne by the local authorities as well as by the employer Damsa.

For the manager of this unit, the health measures decreed by the health authorities are rigorously respected. While regretting these cases that occurred in his unit, the responsible Sentissi recalled that the other factories in the El Marsa area have not been spared either by the contaminations, the origin of which he ignores.

To contain the epidemic, entry and exit into the industrial zone are now prohibited, pending the completion of a screening campaign launched with all the units installed in this locality. As for the Damsa cannery, it has been closed on the orders of the wali of the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region.