Morocco Reports Sharp Decline in COVID-19 Cases as Vaccination Efforts Progress

During the fortnight from May 10 to 23, 2021, the number of Covid-19 infection cases decreased by 29.8%, the Ministry of Health said in this report.

While the infection rate fell from May 10 to 23, active cases also decreased by 31%, from 3,878 cases to 2,595 between April 26 and May 9, said Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih, head of the communicable diseases division at the Directorate of Epidemiology and Disease Control at the Ministry of Health.

According to the same source, decreases were also recorded in the death rate (-7.7%), critical or severe cases (-16%, 187 vs. 218) and the rate of intubated patients (-50%).

Meanwhile, the positivity rate increased slightly from 2.5% to 3.13% over the last two weeks, notes the expert, who explains that the upward trend can be explained by the significant increase in this rate in the Casablanca-Settat region (8.2%), while it has dropped significantly in the Fez-Meknes region (0.2%).

As for the national vaccination campaign against the coronavirus, the ministry’s report announces that at the end of the 17th week of this campaign, the number of people who received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines reached 7,832,620 and the number of people fully vaccinated (1st and 2nd doses) reached 4,875,332.