Morocco Launches Lab Consortium to Track Covid-19 Variants

This consortium of laboratories, with a functional genomic sequencing platform, was created as part of the genomic surveillance strategy for the new coronavirus SARS-CoV2, the Health Department said in a statement. It is composed of the reference laboratory for influenza and respiratory viruses at the National Institute of Hygiene, the Medical Biotechnology Laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat, the functional genomic platform of the National Center for Scientific Research, as well as the Pasteur Institute of Casablanca, the ministry specifies.

The main mission of this network of laboratories is to identify the SARS-CoV2 variants circulating in Morocco and characterize them by genomic sequencing, the same source continues. The sequencing of SARS-CoV2 strains, collected from various public and private laboratories, including mobile laboratories and laboratories on board ships carrying passengers from Europe to Morocco, is carried out continuously between the consortium laboratories. Any foreign variant is thus declared to the competent authorities and a press release is published by the Ministry of Health to inform about the type of variant detected and the measures taken to interrupt its spread. To date, none of the Brazilian or South African variants have been detected in the kingdom.

The first case of contamination with the British variant had been detected in January at the Tanger-Med port in a Moroccan arriving from Ireland on a boat from Marseille. Three new cases of the same variant have recently been recorded in Morocco.

The Ministry of Health also reminds citizens that the Covid-19 virus continues to rage in the kingdom and reiterates its call to strictly comply with preventive measures, by wearing a protective mask, respecting physical distancing, washing hands regularly and avoiding gatherings, urging the elderly or suffering from chronic diseases to be more cautious.