Morocco Considers Nightly Curfew During Ramadan to Curb COVID-19 Surge

This information confirmed according to Le360, would in the next few hours, be the subject of a decision in the process of being finalized. It is about the adaptation, during Ramadan, of a confinement marked by a health curfew going from the breaking of the fast (around 7 p.m.) until dawn". During the day, schools and neighborhood businesses would remain open and travel within cities and towns would however be "free and authorized" until 6 p.m., says a source close to the government.

At 7 p.m., the time of breaking the fast, until 5 a.m., circulation will be prohibited, except for citizens whose professional activity requires travel at night. Like last year, the Executive plans to "prohibit the Tarawih prayers that take place after the breaking of the fast". "These measures aim to curb the spread of Covid-19, and in particular to prevent the British variant of the virus from spreading further," have stressed activists of some political parties such as the RNI, the PAM, the USFP and the PPS. Only members of the PJD denounced the closure of mosques at the time of Tarawih.

The government wants to avoid at all costs a repeat of the spread following Eid al-Adha. On this issue, Professor Chakib Abdelfettah, member of the Anti-Covid-19 Scientific and Medical Committee, said that an extended confinement during the nights of Ramadan is necessary to preserve the health of the population. "The best Ramadan we can dream of having this year is identical to last year’s where the night-time confinement had been applied," said the specialist.

The absence of a government decision is slowing down preparations at the mosque level, points out the imam of a large mosque in the Kingdom. He adds that the Tarawih prayers are not mandatory in Islam. According to him, "it is a free choice left to the believer". He recalls that with the prevailing health situation, we must come to terms with the fact that the Covid-19 page is far from being turned.