Moroccan City of Laâyoune Remains COVID-Free After Two Months

It is one of the few cities to have this status in terms of coronavirus contamination. While the statistics of the Ministry of Health still show four cases of COVID-19 infection in the Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region, this had occurred since the end of March in Boujdour, about 200 km south of Laâyoune. And since then, all these patients have left the hospital after recovering from the disease. The inhabitants jealously guard this advantage, "as long as it can allow them to do their shopping at the local grocer, the butcher or the greengrocer," specifies the MAP.

Everyone salutes the tremendous work done by the local authorities, the municipal council and civil society. "If our city has not recorded any cases of coronavirus infection, it is thanks to the mobilization, day and night, of the local authorities, elected officials and civil society actors," says a very committed activist since the beginning of the pandemic, in awareness-raising among the population. "The population has well understood our message on the dangers of the disease and has resolved to respect confinement and wearing masks," she declares.

Since the proclamation of the state of health emergency on March 20, the authorities have committed to ensuring the "prompt execution of the decisions provided for under this exceptional measure." Enforcing confinement, checking exceptional travel permits, while continuing to carry out the daily missions of preserving order. The task is exhausting for these agents, especially during the month of Ramadan. "After the closure of Hassan 1ᵉʳ airport, all the entrances to the city are strictly monitored and the few people authorized to access Laâyoune are placed in quarantine," reports the MAP.

Several other actions have been taken to keep the city far from the disease. But "the discipline of the population, which has very early understood the need to support the authorities in the efforts made every day," must be recognized. Determined to safeguard at all costs this achievement of a city free of contamination, "the population of Laâyoune hopes that its discipline will be rewarded in the event of a deconfinement by region that the government could consider," specifies the same source.