It is now official. Since May 11, Morocco has started exporting protective masks against the coronavirus. The Minister of Industry and Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, announced this during the weekly plenary session of oral questions in the House of Representatives.
The government’s strategy to lead Morocco towards deconfinement is being invited to the heart of the monthly session devoted to general policy issues, addressed to the Head of Government. It will be held on May 18 at the House of Representatives.
Since Morocco decided to embark on the production of protective masks to combat the coronavirus epidemic, it has managed to produce a total of 160 million masks. And these "Made in Morocco" masks will soon land on the international market.
The Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy announced last Saturday that 34 investment projects carried by SMEs have been approved by the public-private selection committee. This was the result of a call for projects, called "Imtiaz-Technologies covid-19", launched by the Maroc PME Agency.
Morocco is positioning itself in the global race for masks. The surplus of mask production will be exported to the global market in the coming days. Domestic demand is fully met while foreign demand continues to grow.
The week that is coming to an end has been marked by a series of concerns raised by the media about a shortage of protective masks in Morocco. The Minister of Industry and Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, dispelled the concerns about the issue during his appearance on the 2M television news on Wednesday evening.
Only grocery stores are authorized to sell the masks subsidized by the state. This is a decision made by the Ministry of Industry on April 10, thus removing from large retailers the marketing of masks.
The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy has banned the retail sale of protective masks on Thursday.
Morocco is preparing to make 500 ventilators directly from the factory of the Société d’études et de réalisations mécaniques de précision (SERMP) available to its hospitals.
The Moroccan authorities have just proceeded to distribute masks to neighborhood grocery stores and large stores across the country, so that as many people as possible can obtain them. It has indeed been mandatory to wear them since Tuesday, April 7.
With the establishment of the state of emergency, the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Industry, Trade and the Digital Economy have published a list of commercial activities that must continue to offer their services and products to citizens.
Morocco is in a state of health emergency as of this Friday. The announcement was made during a joint press conference, led by the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, and the Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb.