Morocco Braces for Potential Surge as Coronavirus Cases Could Reach 10,000

According to Dr. Mohamed Lyoubi, director of the Directorate of Epidemiology and Disease Control at the Ministry of Health, an explanation could be given for this alarming figure. While speaking before members of the Social Sectors Committee in the House of Representatives, Dr. Lyoubi indicated that "control operations cannot detect all individuals who may be affected by the virus." According to him, since the majority of them do not show any symptoms of contamination during these checks, only laboratory analysis can settle the matter.

It should be emphasized that from the first hours of the declaration of COVID-19 cases, Morocco set up a national steering committee. This committee has made projections and established different scenarios to monitor the evolution of the Coronavirus in the Kingdom.

Thus, at the moment, according to the national steering committee, Morocco is still in the first stage, which could record up to 200 suspected cases and 50 confirmed cases. In the 2nd stage, a balance of 2,000 suspected cases could be made, with 500 confirmations. And at this level, new measures should be adopted to curb the spread, in order to avoid the 3rd stage, that of 10,000 cases infected by the virus.

While for the moment the kingdom is still far from these projected scenarios, Dr. Mohamed Lyoubi will add to reassure somewhat that the coronavirus is spreading among the Moroccan population at a rate that remains "low or medium". On Friday, March 6, the number of alerts received by the Ministry of Health regarding a possible coronavirus infection, and which have been taken care of, amounts to 101, of which 42 potential cases have proven negative for the coronavirus, and 57 false alarms, specifies Hespress. And to add that to date, the balance sheet shows a total of 50 suspected cases, 48 cases dismissed after proving negative.

For his part, Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Health, displays great serenity in the face of the situation, stressing that "Morocco is perfectly prepared to manage the situation and that its expertise in this field can be exported abroad".