Morocco Urges Hospitals to Conserve Oxygen as COVID-19 Cases Surge

The situation had been presented last week by the hospitals in Casablanca and Marrakech, announcing the increasingly acute lack of intensive care beds.

In a circular addressed to hospital directors, university hospitals and regional health directors, the minister asked to improve the consumption of medical oxygen "in view of the evolution of the epidemiological situation related to the Covid-19 pandemic, which is characterized by a significant increase in the number of patients requiring oxygen therapy".

Thus, Ait Taleb presented several procedures that must be respected, and held the sector’s managers "to ensure the strict application of these procedures and to ensure them".

Among the measures included in the ministerial circular, emphasis is placed on improving the use of high-flow oxygen devices according to the patient’s needs, and eliminating even minor leaks along the tube.

Ait Taleb also stressed the need to close all unused contact points and to ensure that patients themselves do not have the ability to modify the oxygen level.

In addition, the note recommends ensuring that when a patient is not actively using an oxygen mask, he cuts off the associated oxygen flow, making sure that the capacity of the delivered bottles is completely exhausted before separating them.