Tuesday, March 17, 2020

Covid-19 Updates - 9 new confirmed cases in Morocco


Nine new confirmed cases of contamination with the new coronavirus (Covid-19) were recorded in Morocco, from the night of Sunday to Monday until 9 p.m. on Monday, March 16, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the Kingdom to 38.


These are cases of infection from abroad, except for one suspected of having been infected by a person from abroad and tested positive for the virus, the ministry said in a statement.

Morocco’s Health Ministry announced the country’s second fatality due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) on Tuesday. The victim was a 75-year old Moroccan man from Sale, Rabat’s twin city.

The nine new cases were recorded in the cities of Meknes (1), Marrakech (2), Agadir (1), Fez (2), Rabat (2) and Casablanca (1).

Other news.

Coronavirus: Cancellation of the 16th Fez festival of Amazigh culture

The Fez-Saïss Association announced, Monday, March 16, the cancellation of the 16th edition of the Fez festival of Amazigh culture, scheduled from July 24 to 26. This decision was taken `` given the situation linked to the consequences of the coronavirus and in accordance with the recommendations of the competent authorities, '' said the association in a press release.

British Airways, Easy Jet, Ryan Air, TUI are to fly limited emergency commercial flights this week from Agadir and Marrakech.

Flights from Agadir until Thursday

Meanwhile in the souq...

The souq at R'Cifis eerily quiet, with many small stalls closed. There is an abundance of meat, fish and vegetables. Almost all the conversation is about the corona virus. But people are still shaking hands and only one man we saw was wearing a mask and rubber gloves.


And the cafes?  - All closed.

A popular cafe in R'Cif may be closed for weeks.

Tourists unable to leave Morocco should make a note of emergency numbers.



URGENT TRAVEL ADVICE UPDATE FOR AUSTRALIANS

A limited number of emergency commercial flights out of Morocco, from Agadir and Marrakech airports, will be running until the 19 March. The Australian Embassy says it has been working closely with its international partners to find out more information. We will be posting flight times shortly.

"Since these are commercial flights, we cannot unfortunately guarantee seats for Australians. Due to increasing international border closures, it is also possible that not all flights will go ahead as planned.

"We urge Australians to continue to explore commercial options to leave Morocco. We recognise the difficulty that you and other Australians around the world are facing.

Australians should register

We urge all Australians currently in Morocco to register, if they haven’t already, by sending their names and contact information (phone number, e-mail address, number of people, city in Morocco) to rabat@dfat.gov.au. This is to facilitate ongoing updates concerning travel advice.

Please keep monitoring our Facebook page today and Australian Government travel advice at:
https://www.smartraveller.gov.au/Morocco

Also note the Australian Government has a 24 hour emergency hotline to assist Australians overseas : +61 2 6261 3305

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