Morocco Ranks 39th Globally in COVID-19 Testing Efforts, Surpassing Several European Nations

With nearly 550,000 diagnoses made since March 2, Morocco ranks 39th in the world, just behind Ukraine and Austria, and ahead of several other European countries such as Switzerland, the Czech Republic, the Netherlands or Sweden and even global powers like Japan, Mexico and Argentina. With 1.3 million cumulative tests, South Africa is the second African country to appear in this top 40.

Morocco owes this position to the clear political will of the authorities who have made screening a priority in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic. The number of equipped and authorized laboratories to perform the PCR test has been gradually increased.

From just three laboratories at the beginning of March 2020, the kingdom now has about 25 laboratories under the Ministry of Health, two military hospitals, two non-profit private hospitals managed by foundations, a few private units (especially on the Casablanca-Tangier axis) and two mobile laboratories (one operating in the Fez-Meknes region and the other in Casablanca), reports Challenge.ma.