Tangier Sees Surge in COVID-19 Cases as Testing Ramps Up

It was at the end of April that the realization of screening tests accelerated, in order to support the restart of the industrial sector. Several dozen positive cases were diagnosed per day, but the situation was not out of control. Today, it seems to be getting worse, with hundreds of cases of contamination per day, reports L’Économiste.

The Minister of Health had explained this worsening of cases by the fact that "Tangier is experiencing an epidemiological situation of its own with a peak delayed compared to the rest of the country". Other cities like Fez, Berrechid are "taking the same direction with a multiplication of cases".

In addition to the positive cases, the number of deaths has risen to 12 in three days. The situation is worrying to the point of giving rise to rumors about the mutation of the pathogenic element, giving birth to a particular virus for Tangier. A claim quickly brushed aside by the Ministry of Health, which, while calling for vigilance, maintains that we must not give in to panic. Since July 13, some neighborhoods of the city have been confined again. On July 22, travel was restricted, with strict control of those issued for exceptional reasons.

A team of 48 doctors and nurses specialized in resuscitation, epidemiology and virology from the Royal Armed Forces has arrived in Tangier to take care of patients with Covid-19 who are in critical condition. "This unit will have to lend a hand to the Mohammed VI hospital, overwhelmed by the number of cases recorded recently in the city," specifies the same source.