COVID-19: With 76 new recoveries, remissions exceed contaminations in Morocco

For the first time since the outbreak of coronavirus in Morocco on March 2, the number of remissions has exceed that of contaminations.

Between Sunday afternoon and this Monday morning, the number of remissions, established by the Ministry of Health stands at 76, bringing the total number of covid-19 patients who were discharged from hospital to 669.

No fatalities were reported over the past 24 hours in the country where the coronavirus death toll remains at 161. However, 50 more patients tested positive for covid-19, bringing the total of confirmed cases to 4,115 until Monday at 10 A.M.

A Health Ministry source told the news outlet le360 the drop in contamination is encouraging but caution should still be used. “It is encouraging, but it is premature to conclude that the cases of contamination in Morocco have declined. Any new cluster of contamination would rebound the number of cases,” warned the medical source.

The source explained the decrease in infections in Morocco by the policy adopted by health and public authorities to limit the spread of the virus. From the start, people who have had contact with a confirmed case have been systematically screened. “This helped curb the spread of Covid-19,” said the medical source.

The decline in the contamination curve can also be explained by the confinement, which slows down the circulation of the virus, alleviates the burden on hospitals and saves lives. “Any slackening in compliance with confinement measures can lead to a bounce of contaminations,” warns the medical source.

The number of negative covid-19 cases reached 24,301 in the North African Kingdom, which has speeded up and enhanced testing operations.

According to Health minister Khalid Ait Taleb, the expansion of Covid-19 testing capacity has helped to identify people who have acquired immunity after recovery as well as those infected with the virus.

The World Health Organization supports widespread testing, stressing the importance of three things: tracking down cases with symptoms; identifying their household cluster and tracing people they’ve contacted; and quarantining them until they are no longer infectious.