Photo: John S. sur Flickr
October 25, 2020: Debate – Morocco, Mass vaccination against COVID-19 requires the commitment of the whole society
Debate. In Morocco, mass vaccination against COVID-19 can only be done through the commitment of the whole society, stressed Saturday in Rabat, the director of the biotechnology laboratory of the Faculty of Medicine and Pharmacy of Rabat, Dr. Azeddine Ibrahimi.
Speaking within the framework of the 4th international congress of the Moroccan Society of Emergency Medicine (SMMU), Mr. Ibrahimi said he “hopes that we can integrate the maximum number of people in this project” of vaccination, arguing that it is “a matter of life or death”.
Stressing the principle of acquired immunity, the specialist said that “we will have to vaccinate in order to be sure to limit infection by the new coronavirus,” explaining that this will reduce the number of hosts that will allow the virus to spread.
Mr Ibrahimi, however, dwelt on the adverse effects of mass vaccination, stressing in this regard that we must move towards “the ideal or perfect vaccine” to ensure that it will not cause problems for people’s health.
Asked about vaccination against seasonal flu, Mr. Ibrahimi explained that “some people think it would increase general immunity,” but only strict compliance with preventive measures will make it possible to fight effectively, for the time being, against COVID-19.
The 4th international congress of the SMMU proposed, during two days (Friday and Saturday), in semi-presential format, conferences and workshops on topics related to the field of emergencies in all its aspects, the COVID-19 crisis and its multifaceted effects, as well as its repercussions on health care personnel.
Earlier in the day, she paid tribute to two emergency physicians for their efforts and dedication to the profession and presented an award to two female students in their 5th year of medical school with the aim of highlighting scientific research in the field of medicine.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 24, 2020: Casablanca-Settat, civil servants invited by the wali to adopt telework with some exceptions
The wali of the Casablanca-Settat region, Said Ahmidouch, visiting hospital structures. Credit: MAP Faced with the increase in the number of cases of COVID-19 in recent days in Casablanca-Settat but also with the rise in the number of deaths, the Wali of Casablanca-Settat Said Ahmidouch called on civil servants in the region to adopt teleworking, except for functions where presence in the workplace is necessary, it is said.
A document initially published by Médias24 and then taken up by 2M.ma mentions this call, which is however not compulsory and concerns the staff of public administrations, institutions and local authorities.
According to the same source, the adoption of telework should not, however, jeopardise the continuity of public services and the services offered to citizens, the document adds.
As a reminder, on 23 October, the government took a series of restrictive measures targeting Casablanca, Mediouna, Nouaceur, Mohammedia, Berrechid and Benslimane. .
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 23, 2020: Casablanca and surrounding areas-New restrictions for 4 weeks from Sunday
From Sunday, October 25 at 21h and for 4 weeks, new restrictions come into force at the level of Greater Casablanca, Berrechid and Benslimane, announced the government in a statement.
These measures concern Casablanca, Mohammedia, Nouaceur and Mediouna, Berrechid and Benslimane. They are :
- A ban on night travel from 9pm to 6am, except for travel for medical or professional reasons,
- The obligation to have an exceptional permit for travel between the above-mentioned prefectures and provinces, issued by the competent local authorities,
- The closure of local plots and gardens,
- Cafés, restaurants, shops and shopping centres close at 8pm,
- The bus and tram stop is at 21:00,
- Local markets close at 3pm,
- Encouraging teleworking where possible.
Other restrictions remain in force (closure of sports halls, hammams, prohibition of gatherings of more than 10 people).
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 23, 2020: Transit via Casablanca subject to authorisation
Travellers and motorists outside the city of Casablanca and using the roads that cross it towards their destination are required to carry a permit on them, issued for this purpose by the local authorities. This obligation is part of the preventive measures taken to limit the spread of the pandemic of the new coronavirus, widespread in the economic capital, says a statement from the prefecture of Casablanca, reached Yabiladi.
Thus, other travellers who do not have an exceptional authorisation to transit while circulating inside the city are obliged to use the Casablanca peripheral motorways, rather than the urban sections, under penalty of being subjected to the sanctions provided for within the framework of the state of health emergency.
“It is necessary to remind road users coming from different Moroccan cities and heading towards the rest of the cities via Casablanca, of the need to use the external motorway, in case they do not have a transport permit allowing them to enter the city” Prefecture of Casablanca
In the last 24 hours, Morocco has recorded a new record of infections with the new coronavirus, with 4,151 confirmed cases. Casablanca-Settat, still the most affected region, recorded 2,011 cases, including 1,530 cases in Casablanca.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 23, 2020: Morocco records a new death record, with 73 deaths in 24 hours
Until 5pm this Friday, 3,685 cases of the new coronavirus have been registered in Morocco, bringing to 190,416 the number of people infected since the start of the pandemic, or 10.1 infections per 100,000 inhabitants in 24 hours. The kingdom has thus reached 524.3 cumulative infections per 100,000 inhabitants, according to the daily bulletin of the epidemiological situation of the country, published by the Ministry of Health.
Between yesterday and today, Morocco has also recorded 2,694 new cures, bringing the total number of remissions to 157,175, i.e. a remission rate of 82.5%.
On the other hand, 73 deaths are to be deplored, a record that brings to 3,205 the number of people who died because of Covid-19, i.e. a lethality rate of 1.7%. 23 of these deaths were recorded in the region of Casablanca-Settat, 14 in Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, 9 in the Oriental, 7 in Beni Mellal-Khénifra, 6 in Souss-Massa, 5 in Fès-Meknès, 4 in Tangier-Tétouan-Al Hoceima, 3 in Marrakech-Safi, one death in Drâa-Tafilalet and another in Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra.
The kingdom now has 30,036 active cases under treatment. 699 patients are in a critical state, including 60 new cases in the last 24 hours, while 45 are under intubation. The occupancy rate of the intensive care beds dedicated to Covid-19 has thus increased to 30.4%, it is said.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 22, 2020: The President of the Canary Islands wants to visit Morocco to discuss migration
The President of the Government of the Canary Islands, Ángel Víctor Torres, asked on Wednesday, during the meeting with the Moroccan consul Ahmed Moussa, to travel to Rabat as soon as possible to discuss possible courses of action in response to the increase in migratory flows to the archipelago.
According to the Europa Press agency, Torres, who described the meeting as “fruitful”, stressed that solutions must be found to respond to current problems, mainly linked to immigration.
In this regard, he told the press that in recent weeks the rate of arrivals by sea from Moroccan waters had increased, prompting him to “use all diplomatic channels”.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 21, 2020: A city in the North, Tetouan under curfew
The local authorities of the city of Tetouan on Tuesday put in place a series of restrictive measures in the city particularly affected by the spread of Covid-19.
Faced with the rebound of new cases (71 cases recorded from Monday at 6 pm to Tuesday at 6 pm), a curfew was introduced in the city from 10 pm to 5 am.
The authorities have announced that shops will lower their curtain at 10 pm, as part of these measures which also include tightening controls at the entrances and exits of the city, banning gatherings exceeding 10 people and limiting attendance at Hammams, hairdressing salons and sports halls to 50%.
The Awakening Committee called on the city’s inhabitants to strictly comply with these measures to help stop the spread of the pandemic.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 20, 2020: Morocco negotiates with three new companies for COVID-19 vaccine
Negotiations are under way with three new companies to acquire a vaccine against COVID-19 as soon as it is put on the international market, announced Monday the head of government Saâd Dine El Othmani.
During the monthly session of general policy issues, El Othmani stressed that the negotiations in question come in the wake of the two agreements signed with two vaccine producers, in concretization of the preventive measures adopted by the Kingdom in accordance with royal directives to curb the epidemic.
The government is determined to make available a safe and effective vaccine to ensure that Morocco is one of the first countries in the world to acquire it, he added.
While considering it difficult to bring forward a date for the marketing of a vaccine, the head of government expressed the wish to see such a medical solution available towards the end of this year or early next year.
As a reminder, Morocco has signed agreements with two Chinese and British-Swedish laboratories to benefit from vaccination as soon as the clinical trials are completed. On September 18, Morocco signed a memorandum of understanding for the acquisition of vaccines against COVID-19 produced by the company “R-Pharm”, under licence from the “AstraZeneca” group. The country is thus participating in the search for the anti-covid-19 vaccine through clinical trials involving 600 volunteers.
For more information, please consult (in French) the following link.
October 19, 2020: Night curfew and other measures in the city of Oujda are introduced.
The authorities of the city of Oujda decided to implement a number of measures due to the increase in the number of people infected with COVID-19 among the citizens of Oujda-Angad.
According to a communiqué issued by the prefecture of Oujda-Anjad today, Monday, according to the recommendations of the monitoring committee emanating from its meeting held on October 19, 2020, it was decided to adopt the following precautionary measures, starting from Wednesday, October 21, 2020.
These measures include the closure of all commercial, professional and service shops from eight o’clock in the evening to six o’clock in the morning, the banning of television broadcasts in cafes and restaurants, curfews from nine o’clock in the evening to five o’clock in the morning and the prevention of weekly markets.
The measures also included the closure of nearby markets, a ban on street vendors/street vendors at 3 p.m., the adoption of exceptional permits for travel to and from the city and the approval of 50% of the capacity of bathrooms, hairdressing salons and buses, as well as the closure of public parks and covered sports halls.
The same measures include the prohibition of gatherings of more than 10 people, including family reunions, weddings, funerals, in addition to urging all institutions to adopt telework whenever possible.
The authorities have called on all citizens to continue to adhere to the precautionary measures mentioned, as well as to wear protective masks and respect the legal distance to limit the spread of the epidemic.
The communiqué states that any violation will be sanctioned in accordance with the law and excludes from these measures the movement to public hospitals, private clinics and pharmacies, as well as security personnel, the Royal Gendarmerie, the auxiliary and civil protection forces, men of the local authorities and their assistants.
The authorities have indicated that these measures will remain in force until the epidemiological situation index improves in the prefecture of Oujda and Anjad.
For more information, please consult (in Arabic) the following link.
