THE VIEW FROM FEZ
NEWS AND VIEWS FROM MOROCCO
Monday, May 25, 2020
Sunday, May 24, 2020
Saturday, May 23, 2020
Morocco - Coronavirus Update - May 23rd 4pm
The Ministry of Health has confirmed 74 additional COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases in Morocco to 7,406.
The ministry also confirmed one additional death, with fatalities now totaling 198. The mortality rate remains stable at 2.7%.
Morocco also recorded 161 new recoveries in 24 hours, bringing the total to 4,638. Morocco’s recovery rate is increasing and currently stands at 62.6%.
Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health Mohamed El Youbi added that 55 of the new cases were reported in the Casablanca-Settat region, of which 47 cases were found in two hotspots. El Youbi said the remainder of the cases emerged among people who had come into contact with COVID-19 patients.
He added that seven Moroccan regions did not report any additional cases during the past 24 hours, including Rabat-Sale-Kenitra, Draa-Tafilalet, Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab, Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, Souss-Massa, Guelmim-Oued Noun, and Beni Mellal-Khenifra.
El Youbi informed the public that a total of 10,085 screening COVID-19 tests came back negative during the 24-hour period. This brings the total number of tests that yielded negative results since the beginning of the outbreak in the country on March 2 to 126,155.
The director also added that there are currently 2,570 active cases that are either under treatment or under medical monitoring.
Geographic dispatch of the pandemic
With 32.20% of the country’s reported infections, the Casablanca-Settat region still records the highest number of cases, followed by Marrakech-Safi (17.77%), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (13.61%), Fez-Meknes (13.39%), and Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (9.28%).
The Draa-Tafilalet accounts for 7.91% of the country’s total cases, followed by the Oriental region (2.46%), Beni Mellal-Khenifra (1.52%), Souss-Massa (1.15%), and Guelmim-Oued Noun (0.58%).
The southern regions of Dakhla-Oued Ed Edahab and Laayoune-Sakia-El Hamra account for 0.07% and 0.05%, respectively.
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Friday, May 22, 2020
Morocco - Coronavirus Update - May 22nd 4pm
Moroccan authorities will lift the night time curfew directly after Eid al-Fitr, set to take place on May 24.
Moroccan news outlet Le360 first shared the information from “reliable sources,” who affirmed that authorities would lift the night-time curfew immediately after the feast. The exact date of the curfew lifting is unknown.
A source familiar with government deliberations confirmed the news to Morocco World News.
Moroccans have been authorized to leave their homes for an additional two hours during the holy month, beginning on April 23. Before the decision, Morocco’s curfew had been from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. since March 20.
Beginning April 25, the curfew has been in place from 7 p.m. to 5 a.m..
The move was to further strengthen the measures of the state of health emergency, currently set to expire on June 10.
Under the decision, movement after 7 p.m. was forbidden, except for individuals with special work authorization in addition an exceptional movement permit.
Before the lockdown began on March 20 as part of the country’s state of emergency, Morocco closed public spaces like mosques, restaurants, cafes, and hammams.
The decision falls within the framework of Morocco’s actions, taking into account the severity of the pandemic and its circumstances.
Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said on May 21 that Moroccans should learn to live with COVID-19.
He said that life will not go back to normal, expecting Morocco will continue fighting the coronavirus one year or 18 months.
El Othmani explained that the country does not yet have enough data to know when it will announce victory over the pandemic.
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Heatwave to Hit Morocco
The National Meteorology Directorate (DMN) declared in a special bulletin that Morocco will see a heatwave from Saturday, May 23 to Tuesday, May 26 in several provinces.
In a special orange-level bulletin, DMN indicates that temperatures will vary between 40 and 44 degrees Celsius in the southern provinces of Oued Eddahab, Boujdour, Es Smara, Laayoune, Tan-Tan, Guelmim, Taroudant, and the western provinces of Sidi Kacem and Sidi Slimane.
Temperatures between 37 and 41 degrees Celsius will cover Agadir, Marrakech, Settat, Khouribga Meknes, Kenitra and Ouazzane for the same period.
This heat wave follows severe wind and thunderstorms that hit several Moroccan regions last week.
The rainy weather could be beneficial for Morocco’s agriculture season, which is marked by a lack of rainfall.
The rainfall last week might also help Morocco increase its cereals output.
This week, the National Ports Agency (ANP) announced that Morocco’s cereals imports in 2020 reached a total of 3.5 million tons, as of April 30, against 3.4 million tons during the same period in 2019, which translates to an increase of 38%.
Wheat imports increased by 38% over the same period last year.
ANP acknowledged that the drought which hit this year’s agricultural season and the state of emergency due to COVID-19 directly affected the flow of cereals imports through commercial ports.
In order to support farmers affected by drought in Marrakech-Safi’s Rehamna region, the Mutual Moroccan Agricultural Insurance Company (MAMDA) has allocated MAD 200 million ($20.2 million) to help them cope with the damage.
Some regions in southern and central Morocco, however, are still suffering the effects of drought due to their geographic location.
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Thursday, May 21, 2020
Morocco - Coronavirus Update May 21st 4pm
Morocco’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 78 new COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, bringing the country’s total case count to 7,211 as of 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 21.
The ministry also announced 182 new recoveries and two new deaths. The total number of recoveries currently stands at 4,280, while the death toll reached 196.
In recent days, the number of new recoveries has consistently exceeded the number of new detected cases, decreasing the number of active COVID-19 cases, which currently stands at 2,735.
The trend has also led to a continuous increase in Morocco’s recovery rate, currently 59.4%. The global recovery rate is 39.9%.
Meanwhile, COVID-19’s fatality rate in the country remains at 2.7%, below the global average of 6.4%.
Daily monitoring of people who made contact with COVID-19 patients remains the most effective method to detect new cases. In the past 24 hours, 65 people, or 87% of the new cases, tested positive for the virus during the monitoring period.
Since the start of the outbreak, Moroccan health authorities have monitored a total of 40,469 suspected COVID-19 cases.
Casablanca hosted the majority of the new COVID-19 cases. The regions of Marrakech-Safi, Souss-Massa, Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Fez-Meknes, and Rabat-Sale-Kenitra recorded the remaining cases.
Casablanca-Settat remains the most affected region in Morocco, with 31.09% of the country’s cases, followed by Marrakech-Safi (18.13%), Fez-Meknes (13.65%), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (13.63%), Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (9.44%), and Draa-Tafilalet (8.13%).
The Oriental region (2.5%), Beni Mellal-Khenifra (1.57%), Souss-Massa (1.15%), Guelmim-Oued Noun (0.6%), Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab (0.07%), and Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (0.06%) continue to show no or few new cases everyday.
Moroccan laboratories are systematically ramping up their COVID-19 testing frequency. In the past 24 hours, the number of tests reached a new high of 6,993, including 6,915 tests that came back negative.
Since February, Moroccan health authorities have performed a total of 112,997 tests on suspected COVID-19 cases, including 105,786 that came back negative.
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