Morocco Reopens Cafés and Restaurants at 50% Capacity After COVID-19 Shutdown

Café and restaurant owners, who have been without work since mid-March due to the state of health emergency declared in Morocco, are finally smiling again. Starting this Thursday, they will be able to resume their activities within the limit of 50% of their reception capacity.

For the reopening, these professionals are busy taking all the necessary measures to comply with the health measures required by the authorities, in particular social distancing and daily disinfection, in order to preserve the health of employees and customers who are impatient to find the terraces after a long period of confinement.

For Khalid A., manager of a café in downtown Casablanca, support from the public authorities would not be too much, especially since "the implementation of the various health measures will certainly create additional expenses," reports the MAP. Hicham H., also a café manager, is actively preparing his reopening, after the confinement was used to "completely renovate" his premises, he confides to the same source.

The resumption of activities of these professionals will undoubtedly bring them a breath of fresh air, pending support from the government in terms of financing or tax incentives. In this sense, Mohamed Abdelfadel, coordinator of the Joint Commission of Food Trades (CMMB), "remains confident that the government will respond favorably to the proposals made by the Commission, particularly in the amending finance law." This includes reducing the VAT rate and exempting the professional tax.