Morocco Holds Steady on COVID Measures as Omicron Spreads Globally

Despite the new Omicron variant infections, Morocco has not yet tightened health restrictions as was the case for the Delta variant in August last year. The non-taking of this decision can be justified by the stable health situation of the kingdom. "For the moment, the epidemiological situation is relatively stable. We are in a green epidemiological zone, despite the substantial increase in positive cases in recent days," said Professor Saïd Motaouakkil, a member of the scientific and technical committee on Covid-19, to Médias24. Furthermore, the population is adhering to the national effort made to curb the spread of the new coronavirus.

However, some believe that it would be normal for the scientific committee to recommend tightening restrictive measures, particularly the control of intercity travel at night, reports Al Ahdath Al Maghribia. It has been found that the injection of the third dose is not accelerating as desired. Only 27% of those over 65 have taken their third dose, while this age group is the most vulnerable and poses risks to the entire health system in Morocco. According to a source from the scientific committee, the body’s ability to resist the new Omicron variant is not strong enough in people who have undergone the old health protocol based on two doses of the vaccine in the case of AstraZeneca or Sinopharm, and one dose in the case of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine.

However, in those who have received the third dose, the vaccine’s effectiveness rises to 75% in the case of the Delta and Omicron variants. Hence the need to adhere to the vaccination campaign with the three doses in order to avoid the peaks reached during the previous waves of Covid-19.