Fez Faces Alarming Surge in COVID-19 Cases, Doctors Urge Caution

Taken care of by Public Health, these patients are under treatment at the CHU Hassan II, at the Ibn Al Khatib hospital. In these centers, the doctors are concerned about the serious cases they are receiving and call on the city’s residents to be vigilant and respect the barrier gestures. "The epidemiological situation of the city of Fez is alarming," warns Dr. Mohamed Mounir Mikou, anesthesiologist, member of the Moroccan Society of Anesthesia, Analgesia and Resuscitation (SMAAR). He deplores about sixty health professionals among the infected recorded in the last 48 hours, reports L’Économiste.

According to him, the contamination of these doctors and nurses is due to "a drop in the vigilance of the secondary staff due to chronic stress given the workload. There is also the pressure of the economic situation at the end of the confinement period and the discourse of certain media that have conveyed a false impression of security. To this is added "the absence of coronavirus circuits in the emergency room of the CHU and in certain hospitals. This has led, adds the doctor, "to a mixing of Covid and non-Covid patients, causing contamination of the staff who were not ready to receive them in compliance with the barrier measures".

The anesthesiologist believes that "the responsibility is shared between the citizens who do not respect the barrier measures and the government which opts for a discourse of mastery of the situation", while there is "a flagrant laxity". They condemn the images shared on social networks on the eve of Eid, in the souks, stations, roads. "The citizen is faced with an enemy he cannot see and cannot touch since the information we are conveying about this infection does not touch the immediate family or social circle, which leads to a drop in vigilance against this deadly enemy," regrets Dr. Mikou.