COVID-19: King Mohammed VI orders private sector to conduct massive testing to protect employees

King Mohammed VI has called on the Moroccan private sector to conduct massive testing to protect the employees and resume activity in a secure environment, as part of the participatory management of the Covid 19 pandemic.

The Ministry of Health and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) said in a joint statement that this large-scale testing operation will allow business operators to protect their employees and limit the risk of the virus spread.

The operation would be similar to the mass operation carried out since May 16 in banking establishments, in partnership between the Ministry of Health and the Professional Grouping of Banks in Morocco (GPBM).

The operation at the banking institutions yielded “excellent results and allowed the detection of only two infected cases out of more than 8,100 tests carried out to date,” the statement said.

The sovereign gave his instructions to the Ministry of Health to put at the disposal of the CGEM all necessary material and human resources to launch a nationwide campaign to screen for Covid-19 infection among employees of private sector companies, taking into account the overcrowding, specificities, and health constraints inherent in the workplace, the statement added.

The ministry and the CGEM concluded the statement by saying that the action will contribute to the resumption of activity in a secure environment and in the best conditions.

The move comes as several industrial units and enterprises are resuming their activities after a lockdown of over two months.

Morocco has so far recorded 7,922 confirmed COVID-19 cases, including 206 deaths and 6,866 recoveries.

The country’s lockdown is scheduled to end on June 10, pending confirmation of low transmission rates over a period of two weeks.