Moroccan Restaurants Fear Lockdown as COVID-19 Cases Surge in Casablanca

With the extent of the spread of the pandemic, the Head of Government, Saad Eddine El Othmani, does not rule out the possibility of a return to general containment, if the situation worsens. Casablanca alone records an average of 2,000 Covid-19 cases per day. A situation that suggests that a re-containment is not far away, especially with the restrictions imposed by the authorities, forcing restaurateurs to close at 8 p.m., and the imposition of a curfew at 10 p.m., reports Hespress.

Among restaurateurs, it is total doubt and confusion. While some sectors have been able to survive the 3 months of previous containment, their situation remains very fragile for a re-containment. Interviewed on Hespress, Jean-Claude Kerenek, the owner of a restaurant, and well known in Casablanca, indicated that the sector was just beginning its recovery. Like several restaurateurs, he benefited from a loan, set up by the economic monitoring committee (CVE), to relaunch his restaurant during deconfinement. He plans to take out another one, but the current situation leaves him perplexed, like several others.

This decision, as judicious as it may be, will jeopardize an entire sector that employs thousands of employees, he warns. Consequently, "if there is a re-containment, the government must announce it as soon as possible, while giving us a 48 or 72 hour delay to organize ourselves, and not fall into the same situation as last time," he suggested.