10 – 12 July, 2020

Several neighbourhoods in Tangiers “re-confined” after the emergence of several clusters (Official)

Following the outbreaks in Tangiers, several districts have been placed under quarantine with movement restrictions.

According to a communiqué issued by the Ministry of the Interior on July 12, a copy of which is held by Le Desk, the city of Tangier is in the process of being “re-confined”, starting at midnight on July 12. It is reported that after the appearance of outbreaks of contamination in a number of neighbourhoods in the city of Tangiers, Residents will no longer be able to move freely as they used to. However, the Ministry of Interior does not specify which neighbourhoods will be included in this measure.

Among the measures is the restriction of movement for Tangiers, except in cases of necessity. Residents of these areas must be in possession of a travel permit if they wish to leave their homes, it is stated. This is issued by the enforcement officers.


Several establishments will be closed until further notice, the statement said. These include hammams and sports centres and halls. As for markets, shopping centres and shops, cafés and public spaces (gardens, forests, etc.), they will have to close from 8 p.m. onwards.


With regard to the possibility of leaving the city, the Interior specifies that an exceptional permit issued by the local authorities is required.


As a reminder, on July 10, the government extended the state of health emergency until August 10. This situation allows the authorities to intervene whenever clusters appear, in order to take the necessary measures to stabilize the epidemiological situation in a given place.

For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.

Conditions for entering and leaving Morocco – more clarifications from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Following the publication of the Government’s communiqué on the conditions of access to the national territory for Moroccan nationals and foreigners residing in Morocco, requests for clarification were raised regarding certain practical arrangements for the implementation of this special arrangement.

In this respect, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad states that :

  1. For countries where it is not possible to carry out PCR or serological tests, contacts are underway with the authorities of these countries to find appropriate solutions as quickly as possible.
  2. For persons who intend to come to Morocco by car, via the ports of Sète (France) and Genoa (Italy), and for whom the validity of the test is less than the road travel time, an additional PCR test will be carried out onboard the boat.
  3. Due to the exceptional nature of the current operation, compensation between airlines is impossible due to legal and practical considerations. Consequently, only tickets acquired from Royal Air Maroc and Air Arabia are valid.
  4. The flight schedule will not concern only countries traditionally served by direct routes from Morocco. It could also concern countries where there is a demand from Moroccans residing abroad or foreigners residing in Morocco.
  5. Children under 11 years of age are exempt from the PCR test.
  6. Moroccans residing abroad, foreigners residing or not residing in Morocco, and Moroccan students enrolled in universities abroad, will be able to leave the national territory by the same sea and air routes.

The Call Centre (+212.537.66.33.00) and the Crisis Unit (+212.666.89.11.05, +212.662.01.34.36, +212.537.67.6218), within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad remain available to answer questions from the interested public.

The Kingdom’s embassies and consulates, as well as Royal Air Maroc representations, are also mobilized for this purpose.

For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.

 

Borders Reopening: here are the destinations included from July 15 onwards

The national airline company, Royal Air Maroc, has just put online the program of flights that will be operational from July 15. These will mainly depart from Casablanca, but also from Rabat, Marrakech, Fez, Oujda and Tangier. Following the Moroccan government’s press release authorizing air and sea travel between Morocco and the rest of the world under certain conditions, the national airline company, Royal Air Maroc, has just announced the launch of a new programme of special flights from 15 July 2020. Flights which are, since this Friday, July 10, available for sale on the site of the airline company, in its various commercial agencies and by phone. Open destinations Casablanca airport will serve the following destinations on both the outward and return journeys: France: Paris, Lyon, Marseille, Bordeaux Canada: Montreal USA: New York Belgium: Brussels Netherlands: Amsterdam Russia: Moscow United Arab Emirates: Dubai United Kingdom: London Turkey: Istanbul Senegal: Dakar Ivory Coast: Abidjan Mauritania: Nouakchott Spain: Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga Italy: Rome, Milan, Bologna Saudi Arabia: Jeddah Algeria: Algiers Tunisia: Tunis Four itineraries have also been added and will depart from other airports in the Kingdom. These are as follows: Rabat-Paris-Rabat Oujda-Paris-Oujda Marrakech-Paris-Marrakech Fez-Paris-Fez Tangier-Paris-Tangier. This announcement follows a government Press release dated  July 08, 2020, which had announced the partial opening of the borders on the 15th of the same month, thus ending 123 days of closure. (link to the decision) Travel conditions The National Company would like to specify that, in accordance with the requirements set up by the Moroccan government, eligible passengers must meet the conditions required by the Moroccan authorities. Thus, flights to Morocco are open to all Moroccan citizens (tourists stranded abroad, students or residents abroad and their families) as well as to citizens of other nationalities residing in Morocco. Flights out of Morocco are open to Moroccans residing abroad as well as to citizens of other nationalities. Students newly admitted to universities, businessmen and citizens who need to travel for medical treatment, as well as foreigners residing in Morocco, must have an exceptional authorisation issued by the prefecture of their province. It is also mandatory for passengers to present, at the time of check-in, the results of the PCR test less than 48 hours old and the serological test. Children under 11 years of age are exempt from testing. For more information, please consult (in French) the following link and the link to the Royal Air Maroc website.