Marrakech Hospitals Overwhelmed as COVID-19 Cases Surge Post-Eid

The resurgence of new cases was observed the day after Eid Al-Adha, reports L’Économiste. This is leading to the saturation of hospitals with the backdrop of a shortage of beds and insufficient medical staff. According to the report of August 12, 74 deaths have been recorded since early March against 67% recovery rate.

At the Mohammed VI University Hospital, dedicated to Covid-19 cases, patients are flocking in. Meanwhile, the medical staff, due to lack of equipment, are exposed with an increasingly worrying contamination rate. A few kilometers from the Mohammed VI University Hospital, the Ibnou Zohr (Mamounia) hospital is facing the same situation of saturation. According to the same daily, the queues in front of the hospitals to get tested and the calls for help from the sick have become a daily occurrence in Marrakech as well as in Casablanca and other cities of the Kingdom. On site, several patients and suspected cases are ignored in disregard of the measures issued by the health authorities.

According to some doctors, the big cities are paying the price for the laxity of the population and the lack of equipment. According to a member of the medical staff in Marrakech, the responsibility is both individual and collective. "Everyone must contribute to the fight against this pandemic, by adhering to preventive measures and adopting a responsible behavior," he specifies.

If the big cities are struggling to cope with the saturation, the situation is under control in some provinces with the exception of Youssoufia, which has recorded about fifty cases in recent weeks.