Morocco Braces for Potential Second Lockdown as COVID-19 Cases Surge

The Covid-19 pandemic and the measures that have been taken have generated various emotions among Moroccans. But the infection rate recorded since the end of the lockdown is very worrying. On Thursday, November 12, the kingdom recorded a new peak of infections with 6,195 new Covid-19 cases, bringing the total number of infected people to 276,821. A new lockdown is conceivable, especially since the virus reproduction rate, currently at 1.22, has exploded.

Sociologist Soumaya Naamane points out that the first lockdown has severely impacted the social fabric. Families have disintegrated, each person finding themselves isolated facing an enemy as dangerous as the virus. Today, hugs, embraces, signs of affection and consideration have given way to distant greetings without warmth, tinged with the fear of contamination. The sociologist stresses that this state of affairs is "a very difficult emotion to live with", reports menara.ma.

Even after the deconfinement, the old reflexes have difficulty returning, and rightly so. The fear of being infected has never been as strong as in recent months. Festive and convivial moments that should allow people to gather are prohibited. Even weddings are done with some restriction and in the greatest sobriety. Funerals, which should be moments of support and compassion, are held with as few people as possible.

Nevertheless, the lockdown has allowed some couples to strengthen their ties, just as it has further widened the gap between others, who have discovered through spending more time together that they did not really love each other. A second lockdown would be catastrophic, warns the sociologist, who points out that in normal times, we need the warmth of our loved ones to get through a difficulty, but Covid-19 requires going through such an ordeal in solitude. A situation that many find very difficult to bear, the same source specifies.