Moroccan Nurses Plan Protests Amid COVID-19 Surge and Workplace Risks

Health unions are invited to "vigorously defend the demands of nurses, in particular after an upward review of the compensation for occupational risk" in these times of coronavirus, the movement said in a statement.

To date, more than 500 nurses have tested positive. According to Fatima Zahra Blain, spokesperson for the movement, many nurses are suffering from neglect by the health authorities. Worse, "several colleagues have lost their loved ones after contaminating them, because the staff is not a priority for testing," she confides to Alyaoum24.

To these difficulties is added the stress related to the management of the pandemic. The movement points out that many intensive care units in hospitals are overwhelmed. For example, there are 3 nurses and two doctors to treat 120 Covid-19 patients in Meknes. The lack of staff remains the main problem facing hospitals in the poorest and least developed rural areas. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), the Daraa Tafilalet southeast region has only one doctor for 4,150 inhabitants.

While the WHO recommends a minimum of 2.4 doctors per 1,000 people, Morocco has only 0.7 doctors and 1.3 nurses per 1,000 people.