Morocco Boosts COVID-19 Testing Capacity with 200,000 Rapid Test Kits from South Korea

With this large batch of test kits, the kingdom is now opting for mass testing for the coronavirus. These tests, purchased in South Korea, are "fast and reliable biosensor tests," says a government source. The shipment, which arrived aboard three planes, landed at Casablanca airport and was delivered to the Ministry of Health on Friday, April 3.

Furthermore, these newly acquired tests are also of the PCR type, like those currently used in Morocco, but "more efficient and especially faster than the screening tests carried out so far by the laboratories."

According to the same source, COVID-19 screening tests, particularly through the new rapid test units, should start next week, and no later than Wednesday, at the university hospitals in Rabat, Fez and Casablanca. The university hospitals in Marrakech and Agadir will be added to the list in the coming days.

For the record, only three laboratories were previously authorized to perform PCR screening tests in Morocco. These are the Pasteur Institute, the Rabat Hygiene Institute, and the Laboratory of the Mohammed V Military Hospital in Rabat.