COVID-19 Surge Prompts Lockdown in Moroccan City of Khénifra

In a press release, the prefecture of the province of Khénifra indicates that the Provincial Coordination Post (PCP) in charge of managing the Covid-19 pandemic has decided to restrict all movement to and from the neighborhoods of Al Fath, Assaka and Raouda, with the exception of people with an "exceptional travel authorization issued by the competent local authorities" for professional, health or basic necessities purposes.

Similarly, distance learning in the educational establishments of these neighborhoods has been temporarily adopted due to the surge in Covid-19 contamination cases in these neighborhoods. The local authorities of the province of Khénifra had also decided to prohibit any movement to and from the cities of Khénifra and M’rirt, with the exception of the freight transport sector, basic products and services, business trips or those justified by extreme necessity, as well as trips for humanitarian reasons or related to the school and university return for students.

The PCP had also decided to suspend public transport linking the city of Khenifra and M’rirt on the one hand, and linking the two municipalities to the other cities of the province, to proceed with the closure of cafes and restaurants in the two cities at 9 p.m., to prohibit access to green spaces and public spaces beyond 9 p.m. in Khénifra and to close the weekly Ahtab souk in the city of Khénifra as well as the livestock markets in the two cities, continues the same source.

Any commercial activity other than the sale of vegetables and fruits in the weekly souk of M’rirt has been prohibited in addition to the closure of markets and businesses and the prohibition of broadcasting football matches in cafes for the two cities.