Health measures to fight the spread of the coronavirus are loosening in Morocco. The government announced on Tuesday the lifting of the national curfew in force since the first months of the pandemic in 2020 due to “the improvement of the epidemiological situation” in the kingdom.
This decision follows “the positive results achieved within the framework of the national vaccination campaign”, explains the government in a press release. On the other hand, the vaccine pass, launched on October 21, remains mandatory for traveling abroad and accessing all enclosed places: hotels, cafes and restaurants, cinema, sports halls and hammams, but also administrations. While a large majority of the population is participating in the vaccination campaign, the compulsory nature of the pass is raising protests in the streets and on social networks.
Decisions reassessed regularly
The Moroccan authorities have also decided to re-authorize travel between prefectures and provinces “without the presentation of any document”, and the organization of funerals and parties. These decisions will be evaluated regularly in the light of the evolution of the health situation, however warns the press release.
The circulation of the virus has slowed down significantly for several weeks in Morocco. In total, nearly 950,000 cases, including 14,726 deaths, have been recorded since the start of screening in March 2020, according to the official report published on Tuesday. The country is counting on its vaccination campaign to stem the pandemic: more than 24 million people (out of 36 million inhabitants) received the first dose of vaccine and some 22.3 million the second. The government especially accelerated at the beginning of October its vaccination campaign for a third dose in order to strengthen collective immunity. Some 1.5 million people vaccinated, primarily vulnerable people and frontline workers, have received it.