Morocco Tightens COVID-19 Restrictions as Cases Surge Ahead of Eid al-Adha

"The morale is not good... We are neither really confined nor deconfined; there are many contradictions in the official messages," says to the newspaper Le Parisien, an anonymous mother from Tangier.

With the measure banning travel to and from several cities including Tangier, she says she feels "imprisoned" in this city, which, it should be noted, is recording the most new cases in the space of a week, and just days before the celebration of Eid al-Adha.

"The epidemiological situation in Morocco is worrying with an increase in the number of deaths and serious cases," said Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb at a press conference on Monday.

According to a doctor from Casablanca, the epidemiological situation in Morocco, with the increase in cases observed, is "normal" since "we are doing many more tests than before". He adds that "the mortality rate in Morocco is one of the lowest in the world," noting that the travel ban, which is a "preventive decision" according to him, has panicked the population who have stormed the stations to join their loved ones, creating a "disaster on the highways".

"In Marrakech where I have relatives.... no one was really respecting the instructions. Now the cases are exploding," confides to the same source a young entrepreneur from the city of Essaouira.

During his press conference, the Minister of Health insisted that "the virus must not leave the urban perimeter of the prohibited cities," adding that this ban measure will last at least 14 days.