Moroccan Health Expert Urges Expanded COVID-19 Testing and Insurance Coverage

In a statement to the MAP, Mr. Hamdi made the following proposals:

• Improve testing capacity through the acquisition of more necessary equipment and materials made in Morocco;

• Facilitate the accreditation and authorization of laboratories for testing and reimburse the costs incurred for this purpose by insurance funds and companies, through the third-party payer system. Here, the interest is twofold according to the doctor: civil servants and employees, as well as their families, benefit from the services of the private sector, while participating in the decongestion of public establishments for rapid diagnosis and care of suspected cases and their contacts;

the need to integrate private physicians into the screening system;
reduce, initially, the isolation period from 14 to 10 days, then fix it at 7 days in a second step, while scrupulously respecting the barrier gestures;

the easing of the health protocol in favor of young people to facilitate isolation and care;

the isolation of citizens who show symptoms and their contacts;

the launch of a large-scale vaccination campaign against seasonal flu, giving priority to vulnerable and at-risk categories;

the creation of two treatment circuits within the health system in the public and private sectors, namely the Covid-19 treatment circuit and the one dedicated to the treatment of other diseases;

the improvement of communication through scientific debates answering citizens’ questions, while making detailed data available to professionals, experts and journalists.

In any case, the researcher urged strict compliance with barrier gestures.