Morocco Mandates Face Masks, Distributes Affordable Supply Nationwide

70,000 neighborhood grocery stores are affected by this operation, even if for the time being, the supply of these sales outlets is ongoing. "The masks have been available for a few hours in supermarkets and with some grocers. The 70,000 targeted neighborhood grocery stores will be supplied by Wednesday," said Taoufik Moucharraf, director of communication at the Ministry of Industry and Trade.

He stressed that the ministry was able to lower the price. For example, "the packs of 100 and 50 units cost 80 DH and 40 DH respectively," he specified. It was a decree from the Ministry of Economy and Finance on April 2 that had set the prices as follows: 2.5 DH/unit for boxes of 10 units, and 2 DH/unit for the box of 50 units, or 1 DH/unit for the box of 100 masks.

To succeed in the compulsory wearing of masks, about ten factories specializing in fabric manufacturing have started producing alternative masks. "We have currently reached a production capacity of 3 million masks per day, and from next week this will reach 5 million masks per day," said Taoufik Moucharraf, while stressing that "the produced masks meet international standards."

According to the Ministry of Health, these masks have a lifespan of four hours and can only be used once. They limit the projection of droplets from the user potentially affected by the coronavirus onto their surroundings. They also protect against any external attack without hindering breathing, specifies challenge.ma

Morocco, it should be remembered, declared a state of health emergency and confinement since Friday, March 20 at 6 p.m., in order to contain the spread of covid-19. By generalizing the wearing of masks, would the state be preparing the population for the end of confinement, which remains an inevitability, despite the fact that the country is in phase 2 of the pandemic?