Morocco Hits Record High in COVID-19 Cases, Enters Red Alert Level

Morocco is facing a rise in Covid-19 cases. In total, 35,307 positive cases were recorded during the period from January 3 to 9, 2022 against 10,658 cases during the period from December 27 to January 2, 2022, an increase of 231% in the weekly rate of positive Covid-19 cases. A rate never recorded since the start of community transmission of the virus in Morocco, assures Dr. Mouad Merabet, coordinator of the National Public Health Emergency Operations Center at the Ministry of Health and Social Protection.

The level of SARS-CoV-2 transmission is very high in the Casablanca-Settat region, high in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Marrakech-Safi regions, and moderate in the other regions of the kingdom. It should be noted that there is a three-week lag between the center of Morocco, the north and the south. The peaks of virus transmission will therefore be reached at different dates depending on the regions. The kingdom is in the fourth week of the third wave of Covid-19, and virus transmission is now at the red, the highest level.

As for the weekly positivity rate, it has increased in all regions, and has doubled nationally, going from 10.2 to 21.7%. The number of tests performed increased from 103,787 to 162,574 tests between the week of December 27 to January 2, and that of January 3 to 9, an increase of 56.64%. As for the number of deaths, 56 deaths were recorded between January 3 and 9, 2022, which represents an increase of 107% compared to the previous week. As for the number of people cured, it went from 3,853 to 9,847, an increase of 155.57%. The number of active cases is now 35,768 people, compared to 10,364 people a week earlier. Finally, the virus reproduction rate (RO) is now 1.33.