Morocco Braces for Possible New COVID Restrictions as Cases Surge

A surge of new cases that are now approaching the 10,000 infections per day mark. Similarly, hundreds of serious cases admitted to hospitals and care centres, notes the newspaper Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, which announces that new restrictions are to be expected in the coming days.

The press releases from the Ministry of Health and the tightening triggered by the Ministry of the Interior have unfortunately not prevented festive gatherings without respect for health measures of social distancing, wearing masks, and hygiene rules, laments the newspaper, adding that the relaxation tinged with irresponsibility is total.

Consequently, possible new measures in the face of the galloping Covid-19 epidemic, after this series of blunders around barrier gestures.

According to sources from Al Ahdath Al Maghribia, it is time to move towards a total tightening of restrictive measures in order to curb this dangerous trend and relieve the health ecosystem, which is beginning to fear saturation.

The same sources add that the new measures will be generalised throughout the Kingdom. They should result in the establishment of a curfew from 8pm, instead of 11pm currently, until 4:30am. Travel to and from areas with high virus spread will also be prohibited, while gyms, public pools, hammams and neighbourhood sports fields will once again close their doors.

The situation is therefore very critical and the health authorities in charge would not want to find themselves in a situation where confinement would become the only way to break the chain of virus transmission.

On this subject, the newspaper’s sources explain that a return to this much-dreaded confinement is not at all excluded if the situation continues to deteriorate. This could even happen quickly if the intensive care beds reserved for Covid-19 patients continue to fill up at this rate.