Morocco Urges Private Clinics to Treat COVID-19 Patients Amid Surge in Cases

Casablanca, the economic capital of the Kingdom, is under lockdown. Alone, the city accounts for about 45% of serious Covid-19 cases and 42% of cases recorded nationwide, 50% of which are symptomatic.

The situation requires the irrevocable involvement of the private sector, when we know that at the beginning of the pandemic, these private clinics had committed themselves alongside the public sector with hospital infrastructure, equipment, including respirators as well as the necessary human resources made available to the State, before withdrawing at the request of the authorities after June 5, due to an epidemiological situation under control.

And here are these private clinics no longer responding to the call today, when the most affected cities really need them. Redouane Semlali, president of the National Association of Private Clinics, explains:

"The clinics do not have the necessary expertise to care for Covid patients, except for the Vinci clinic which has two infectious disease specialists. And on the other hand because this care is likely to condemn the care of other non-Covid diseases".

"We have even asked that Covid be made a mandatory declaration or even considered an occupational disease so that the private health personnel (who still do not benefit from health coverage) are covered in case of contamination," added Dr. My Said Afif.

Let’s remember that after consultations with the Minister of Finance and the opinion of ACAPS, CNOPS has finally integrated Covid care into the list of reimbursed benefits.

Except that so far we don’t know more about the procedures that will be adopted to benefit from it, nor whether the other organizations, including the CNSS and insurance companies, will also integrate Covid care into their benefits.