Morocco wins international praise for its coronavirus response

Morocco has won international acclaim for its multi-pronged response to the coronavirus outbreak, which, besides health protection measures, included social protection initiatives and solidarity both at home and at the African level.

However, on the eve of the lockdown easing with the re-opening of several businesses, the Moroccan citizen now should show more discipline in abiding by protective measures to prevent an outbreak.

Businesses notably those operating in the services sector where social distancing is hard to implement have been urged to strictly respect the preventive measures.

The successful resumption of economic activity depends on the implementation of such precautionary measures in order to prevent hotspots such as the cluster found in strawberry packaging units north of Kenitra last week.

Moroccan authorities made it clear that there will be no compromise with shops, cafes or services that do not respect measures to prevent coronavirus from spreading.

Cafes, restaurants and hotels have been asked to reopen at half capacity as Morocco plans a major easing in most of the country on June 25 allowing domestic travel and the reopening of entertainment venues.

By Wednesday, coronavirus cases rose to 10907 including 216, one of the lowest mortality rates globally while the number of recoveries jumped to 8468 thanks to early detection and chloroquine based treatment.