Morocco Considers Allowing Rapid COVID-19 Tests in Pharmacies

Mohamed Houachi, vice-president of the National Federation of Pharmacists’ Unions of Morocco (FNSPM) on behalf of his colleagues, stated that pharmacists demand to be associated with the right to carry out a rapid examination against Covid-19, in order to report any positive cases. Continuing, he talks about contributing to a prevention system that will reduce the number of confirmed cases.

Houachi also said that the WHO has approved the adoption of a rapid system like the means to direct patients and undertake directive work, to help the Ministry of Health and local authorities contain the disease. He further stated that the participation of pharmacists would favor a more rationalized detection even if a test is not a certainty against the identification of the disease. For this, Houachi recommends that in case of doubt, the patient be directed to a PCR test to confirm the infection. He emphasized the mechanisms for the prevention and protection of pharmacists so that they are not infected. In this regard, a protocol from the Minister of Health has been integrated into a circular and addressed to the professionals in the field.

The Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, has invited the directors of university hospital centers to treat patients without waiting for PCR tests.