Morocco Clarifies: Face Masks Not Required in Private Vehicles

According to the coordinator of the National Center for Public Health Emergency Operations at the Ministry of Health, Mouad Mrabet, there is no risk when you are without a mask in your vehicle. "If you are alone in your car or with your family with whom you live, you do not need to wear a mask," he stressed during a question-and-answer session via WhatsApp. He also explained that "the probability that the Sars-Cov2 virus is transmitted through food is extremely low, if not impossible." It is a respiratory virus that spreads mainly through droplets projected when an infected person coughs or sneezes.

He stressed the need to continuously ventilate homes and workspaces because studies have shown that "the virus’s lifespan in the air is 3 or 4 hours in the open air." Furthermore, the coordinator of the National Center for Public Health Emergency Operations stated that the screening tests are free, however, "taking the test for personal reasons is payable."

While denouncing the explosion of cases of contamination and death, the official specified that the epidemiological situation evolves in three main stages, namely "the confinement stage", where the cumulative incidence rate has shown a slight increase before stabilizing. The second stage concerns "the gradual lifting of confinement", and the third stage consists of "the in-depth lifting of confinement".