Morocco’s health ministry cancels holidays for medics

Morocco’s health ministry canceled holidays for its staff and asked them to postpone their annual leaves to equip hospitals with necessary medics amid a rise in coronavirus cases.

The ministry also asked medics to join their workplaces saying the measure aims to guarantee continuity of health services at a critical context.

The number of coronavirus cases in Morocco jumped to 25,537 cases including 401 deaths and 18968 recoveries.

The rise in cases, due in part to high mobility linked to Eid Al Adha holiday and laxity in precautionary measures, threatens to submerge many hospitals notably in Tangier and Casablanca.

On July 31, the occupancy rate at Casablanca and Settat hospitals stood at 83.7% amid calls for administering Covid-19 treatment at home.

On Monday, most active cases were in Tangier with 1955, Fez-Meknes with 1847 and Casablanca with 1545. These are included in a list of eight cities where Morocco has imposed a travel ban on Sunday July 26 at midnight.

The travel ban is expected to last at least 14 days, according to the health ministry, which does not rule out the possibility of a general lockdown to contain the virus outbreak.