Omicron Surge Hits Morocco: Over Half of Urban Healthcare Workers Infected

The pressure is increasingly strong in the big cities, where the healthcare staff engaged in the fight is contaminated by the Omicron variant. "More than 50% of the medical staff treating in the big cities has been affected by the Omicron variant," said Professor Saïd Moutawakil, an intensive care physician and member of the Scientific and Technical Committee, to SNRTnews.

Announced for the end of January, the peak of the third wave that Morocco is experiencing could arise earlier than expected, due to the resurgence of cases of infection. In hospitals, it is a flurry of activity in the face of the high rate of contamination in the ranks of doctors and nurses. "The contamination of healthcare personnel has caused a certain problem in the management of human resources," Moutawakil stressed. The staff is scarce.

During his intervention, the specialist explained that as a frontline actor, the healthcare staff is exposed to high risks of contamination, despite the existence of a rigorous health and safety protocol. "With the significant influx of patients infected with Covid and requiring intensive care and the workload, a great tension has been created in the management of human resources."

As of January 23, the occupancy rate of intensive care beds has increased from 1.9% on December 15, 2021, the date of the appearance of the first Omicron case, to 11.4%.