2020 coronavirus pandemic in Morocco
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The COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco is part of the worldwide pandemic of
coronavirus disease 2019 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
() caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (). The virus was confirmed to have spread to Morocco on 2 March 2020, when the first case COVID-19 case was confirmed in
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
. It involved a Moroccan expatriate residing in
Bergamo Bergamo (; lmo, Bèrghem ; from the proto- Germanic elements *''berg +*heim'', the "mountain home") is a city in the alpine Lombardy region of northern Italy, approximately northeast of Milan, and about from Switzerland, the alpine lakes Como ...
, Italy, who arrived from Italy on 27 February. A second case was confirmed later that same day involving an 89-year-old woman Moroccan residing in Italy who had returned to Morocco on 25 February from Bologna, Italy. As the outbreak widened in Morocco, in mid-March the Government closed schools and suspended international passenger flights. , there have been 676,683 confirmed cases, of which 598,958 have recovered and 10,163 have died. The government officially counts that 14,981,732 citizens have received the first vaccine injection, of whom 10,870,130 have also received the second injection.


Background

On 12 January 2020, the World Health Organizationbr>(WHO)
confirmed that a novel coronavirus was the cause of a respiratory illness in a cluster of people in Wuhan, Hubei, China, which was reported to the WHO on 31 December 2019. The case fatality ratio for COVID-19 has been much lower than SARS of 2003, but the
transmission Transmission may refer to: Medicine, science and technology * Power transmission ** Electric power transmission ** Propulsion transmission, technology allowing controlled application of power *** Automatic transmission *** Manual transmission *** ...
has been significantly greater, with a significant total death toll. Model-based simulations for Morocco suggest that the 95%
confidence interval In frequentist statistics, a confidence interval (CI) is a range of estimates for an unknown parameter. A confidence interval is computed at a designated ''confidence level''; the 95% confidence level is most common, but other levels, such as 9 ...
for the time-varying reproduction number ''R t'' has been stable below 1.0 since November 2020.


Timeline


First confirmed cases

After the two cases confirmed on 2 March 2020, a third case was confirmed on 10 March 2020, a French tourist who arrived in
Marrakesh Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. On the same day, one of the two first cases, a woman aged 89, died. On 11 March 2020, it was announced that the wife and daughter of the French tourist also tested positive, bringing the total cases to 5. That same day, a sixth case was declared in a woman in her sixties that came from France and that presented respiratory troubles on 7 March. On 13 March 2020, two cases were confirmed: a 39-year-old Moroccan man who had returned from Spain and a 64-year-old French woman. The recovery of patient 0 was reported by the Ministry of Health the same day.


Subsequent cases

* 2020 cases There were 439,193 confirmed cases in 2020. 407,504 patients recovered while 7,388 persons died. At the end of 2020 there were 24,301 active cases. The government announced that it planned to vaccinate 80% of all citizens, starting with the Chinese-made Sinopharm BIBP vaccine. *2021 cases Morocco's first confirmed case of the B.1.1.7 variant was reported from Tanger-Med on 18 January. Mass vaccination began on 28 January, initially with 500,000 doses of the Sinopharm BIBP vaccine and two million doses of the Oxford–AstraZeneca vaccine (Covishield). There were 523,869 confirmed cases in 2021, bringing the total number of cases to 963,062. 532,689 patients recovered in 2021 while 7,461 persons died, bringing the total death toll to 14,849. At the end of 2021 there were 8,020 active cases. *2022 cases There were 308,533 confirmed cases in 2022, bringing the total number of cases to 1,271,595. 314,655 patients recovered in 2022 while 1,445 persons died, bringing the total death toll to 16,294. At the end of 2022 there were 453 active cases.


Responses


Transportation

On 13 March 2020 the government of Morocco announced they were suspending all passenger flights and ferry crossings to and from Algeria, Spain and France until future notice. On 14 March 2020, the government announced it was suspending flights with an additional 25 countries. By that date, flights had been suspended to/from Algeria, Spain, France, Italy and China. On 15 March 2020, the Moroccan government decided to suspend all international flights, and did not announce an expected date for them to resume. It allowed a minority of flights for foreigners wishing to leave to board before completely shutting down its airports on the 22nd. On 21 June 2020, the government re-opened major airports to serve domestic flights only. On 9 July 2020, the government announced that international flights were to resume, with access only for Moroccans or for foreigners residing within the Kingdom. Incoming passengers were required to bring a COVID-19 test result from their country of departure, issued less than 48 hours of the time of arrival. Moroccans living outside of, or foreigners residing within the Kingdom were allowed to leave the country. On 4 September 2020, the government announced that foreigners who were allowed visa-free entry to Morocco can enter the Kingdom's territory conditionally, either through an invitation or a hotel reservation. On 28 November 2021, the government suspended all incoming international flights in response to the spread of the Omicron variant. International flights resumed on 7 February 2022.


Education

On 13 March, the government decided to shut down all schools, effective 16 March until further notice. Classes were to be continued either online or through TV, with the use of the SNRT channels for levels of a certain importance, such as the Baccalaureate level. On 11 April, the Ministry of Education announced that tests and exams will take place normally, but later in the year, and admittance to next levels will be based on the same criteria as before, to ensure equity in grades and notes, instead of admitting students based on their grades of the previous semester. On 12 May, the Ministry of Education announced that tests and exams are cancelled for primary and secondary education, while Bac exam will be held in July and first year of Bac will be held in September. Students aren't going back to school until September 2020.


State of health emergency

On 19 March 2020, the Ministry of Interior declared a " state of health emergency" and subsequent national lockdown both to take effect on 20 March 2020 at 6:00 pm local time for an extendable period of one month. The directive allows for the government to impose restrictions on
freedom of movement Freedom of movement, mobility rights, or the right to travel is a human rights concept encompassing the right of individuals to travel from place to place within the territory of a country,Jérémiee Gilbert, ''Nomadic Peoples and Human Rights' ...
, which includes curfews and travel restrictions, and other preventative measures depending on the current epidemiological situation. The lockdown required the authorisation of local state officials for citizens to leave their homes, while making exceptions for workers at supermarkets, pharmacies, banks, gas stations, medical clinics, telecommunications companies, and essential freelance jobs. The state of health emergency was extended multiple times since its introduction via draft decrees. Armored vehicles reportedly enforced the lockdown during the initial weeks of the outbreak. A direct 24-hour hotline was set up to "reinforce direct communication and urge vigilance to fight the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and safeguard the health of citizens." In April 2020, the government pardoned 5,654 prisoners, and it put forward procedures to protect inmates from the COVID-19 outbreak. On 22 March 2020, the Ministry of Culture ordered newspapers in the country to suspend print production and distribution, and suggested they use alternative methods to distribute content. The government permitted resumption of print publication on 26 May. According to an article published in
Le Desk ''Le Desk'' () is an independent Moroccan digital news outlet that publishes in French and Arabic. It was founded in 2014-2015 by Ali Amar as well as two other co-founders, Fatima-Zahra Lqadiri and Aziz Aouadi. Its headquarters are in the Mer ...
on 21 April 2020, the Moroccan government outsourced its quarantine strategy to the Boston Consulting Group. On 9 May 2020, the House of Councillors, the upper house of the
Moroccan Parliament The Parliament of Morocco (; ; ) is the bicameral legislature located in Rabat, the capital of Morocco. History The traditional representative system in Morocco was organized through traditional structures such as the ulema assembly by cities ...
, approved a law penalizing violations of the state of health emergency with imprisonment of one to three months and a fine of 300–1,300 dirhams (approximately US$30–132). As of 22 May, 91,623 people were reported to be prosecuted for crimes which included violating the health emergency law as of 22 May 2020, leading to concern from non-governmental organizations and activists. On 9 June 2020, the government announced a plan to establish two main zones: * The First Zone, composed of 59 prefectures and provinces where the health situation was under control:
Oriental The Orient is a term for the East in relation to Europe, traditionally comprising anything belonging to the Eastern world. It is the antonym of ''Occident'', the Western World. In English, it is largely a metonym for, and coterminous with, the ...
region, Béni Mellal-Khénifra region, Drâa-Tafilalet region,
Souss-Massa Souss-Massa ( ar, سوس ماسة, sūs māssa; ber, ⵙⵓⵙ ⵎⴰⵙⵙⴰ, sus massa) is one of the twelve regions of Morocco. It covers an area of 51,642 km² and had a population of 2,676,847 as of the 2014 Moroccan census. The cap ...
region, Guelmim-Oued Noun region, Laâyoune-Sakia El Hamra region, Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region, M'diq-Fnideq, Tétouan,
Fahs-Anjra Fahs-Anjra is a province located in the Tanger-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea t ...
, Al Hoceima, Chefchaouen,
Ouezzane Ouazzane (also Ouezzane) ( Berber: ⵡⴰⵣⵣⴰⵏ, ar, وزان) is a town in northern Morocco, with a population of 59,606 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. The city is well known in Morocco and throughout the Islamic world as a spirit ...
,
Meknès Meknes ( ar, مكناس, maknās, ; ber, ⴰⵎⴽⵏⴰⵙ, amknas; french: Meknès) is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco, located in northern central Morocco and the sixth largest city by population in the kingdom. Founded in the 11th ...
, Ifrane,
Moulay Yacoub Moulay Yacoub ( ar, مولاي يعقوب ''mūlāy yaʿqūb'') is a spa town and municipality located 21 km northwest of Fez, Morocco. It is the capital of Moulay Yacoub Province and reported a population of 4612 in the 2014 Moroccan census. ...
, Sefrou,
Boulemane Boulemane ( ber, ⴱⵓⵍⵎⴰⵏ; ar, بولمان) is a town in northern of Middle Atlas Mountains in Morocco. It is located at around , in the region of Fès-Meknès Fès-Meknès or Fez-Meknes ( ar, فاس-مكناس, fās maknās; be ...
, Taounate,
Taza Taza ( ber, ⵜⴰⵣⴰ, ar, تازة) is a city in northern Morocco occupying the corridor between the Rif mountains and Middle Atlas mountains, about 120 km east of Fez and 150 km west of Al hoceima. It recorded a population of 148 ...
,
Khemisset Khemisset (Amazigh language: Zemmur, ar, الخميسات) is an Amazigh town in northern Morocco with a population of 131,542 recorded in the 2014 Moroccan census. It is situated on the A2 motorway between Rabat (81 km) and Meknès (57&nbs ...
,
Sidi Kacem Sidi Kacem ( Berber: ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⵇⴰⵙⴰⵎ, ary, سيدي قاسم, sidi qasəm) is a city in Rabat-Salé-Kénitra, Morocco. It is the capital of Sidi Kacem Province. History During the French period the city was called Petitjean, in ...
, Sidi Slimane,
Settat Settat ( ar, سطات, siṭṭāt, ber, ⵥⴻⵟⵟⴰⵜ, ẓeṭṭat) is a city in Morocco between the national capital Rabat and Marrakesh. Settat is located by road south of the centre of Casablanca, roughly an hour's drive. It is the cap ...
,
Sidi Bennour Sidi Bennour (Berber languages, Berber: ⵙⵉⴷⵉ ⴱⵏⵏⵓⵕ, Arabic: سيدي بنور) is a city in Sidi Bennour Province, Casablanca-Settat, Morocco. Historically speaking, the name derives from the name of a famous sufi saint called Abi ...
,
Chichaoua Chichaoua ( ber, ⵛⵉⵛⴰⵡⵏ, ar, شيشاوة) is a town in Shishawa Province, Marrakesh-Safi, Morocco. According to the 2004 census it has a population of 15,657. References Populated places in Chichaoua Province Municipalitie ...
, Al Haouz, El Kelâa des Sraghna,
Essaouira Essaouira ( ; ar, الصويرة, aṣ-Ṣawīra; shi, ⵜⴰⵚⵚⵓⵔⵜ, Taṣṣort, formerly ''Amegdul''), known until the 1960s as Mogador, is a port city in the western Moroccan region of Marakesh-Safi, on the Atlantic coast. It ha ...
, Rehamna, Safi and Youssoufia. * The Second Zone, composed of 16 prefectures and provinces where the situation was moderately controlled: Tanger-Assilah, Larache,
Fez Fez most often refers to: * Fez (hat), a type of felt hat commonly worn in the Ottoman Empire * Fez, Morocco (or Fes), the second largest city of Morocco Fez or FEZ may also refer to: Media * ''Fez'' (Frank Stella), a 1964 painting by the moder ...
,
El Hajeb El Hajeb ( ar, الحاجب, al-Ḥājib; ) is a city located in the Fès-Meknès region of Morocco. It is the capital of El Hajeb Province and had a population of 27,132 in 2004. El Hajeb is located on the P21 road which can take visitors to Azrou ...
,
Rabat Rabat (, also , ; ar, الرِّبَاط, er-Ribât; ber, ⵕⵕⴱⴰⵟ, ṛṛbaṭ) is the capital city of Morocco and the country's seventh largest city with an urban population of approximately 580,000 (2014) and a metropolitan populati ...
, Salé, Skhirat-Témara, Kénitra,
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Mohammadia,
El Jadida El Jadida (, ; originally known in Berber as Maziɣen or Mazighen; known in Portuguese as Mazagão) is a major port city on the Atlantic coast of Morocco, located 96 km south of the city of Casablanca, in the province of El Jadida and the re ...
,
Nouaceur Nouaceur is a municipality and the administrative capital of Nouaceur Province in the Casablanca-Settat region of Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. ...
, Médiouna, Ben Slimane, Berrechid and
Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
. Note that commercial activities such as cafés, or any sort of event were still prohibited in both zones. The national lockdown was gradually periodically lifted throughout the month of June. In the second half of July 2020, as cases spiked up again (over 10,000 active cases, up from around 200 at the start of the month), the government shifted many regions back to Zone 2, locked down more cities and re-established high-alert quarantine in heavily affected cities. On 21 December 2020, the Moroccan government announced it would impose a nightly curfew, alongside other restrictive measures, to take effect on 23 December as part of its response to the spread of the virus. The curfew was periodically extended alongside the state of health emergency, remaining in place throughout Ramadan, and was then shortened by four and a half hours on 22 May. In early 2021, authorities prevented several planned demonstrations from taking place, including a march in solidarity with imprisoned activists
Omar Radi Omar Radi ( ar, عمر الراضي) is a Moroccan investigative journalist and human rights activist. He has worked at Lakome, Atlantic Radio, Media 24, '' TelQuel'' and '' Le Desk'' and volunteered for the citizen media Mamfakinch, focusi ...
and
Soulaimane Raissouni Soulaimane Raissouni ( ar, سليمان الريسوني) (born 5 June 1972) is a Moroccan journalist, editorialist, and human rights activist. He was working as the chief editor of the newspaper Akhbar Al Yaoum, being notable for his editorials ...
, as well as multiple pro-Palestine protests, under the pretext of avoiding "any violation of the measures of the state of health emergency". A new surge in cases was reported in July 2021, partly due to loose control of health measures in the country, coupled with new variants of the virus, in particular
Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D (NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also re ...
, going from 4,751 cases per day on July 1 to 53,876 on August 1. This prompted the government to retighten health measures, including increasing the duration of the nightly curfew, banning travel to and from
Casablanca Casablanca, also known in Arabic as Dar al-Bayda ( ar, الدَّار الْبَيْضَاء, al-Dār al-Bayḍāʾ, ; ber, ⴹⴹⴰⵕⵍⴱⵉⴹⴰ, ḍḍaṛlbiḍa, : "White House") is the largest city in Morocco and the country's econom ...
, Agadir and
Marrakech Marrakesh or Marrakech ( or ; ar, مراكش, murrākuš, ; ber, ⵎⵕⵕⴰⴽⵛ, translit=mṛṛakc}) is the fourth largest city in the Kingdom of Morocco. It is one of the four Imperial cities of Morocco and is the capital of the Marrakes ...
(with the exception of vaccinated individuals and those with a permit), and enforcing the wearing of masks. On 23 August, the government extended the state of health emergency until 31 October at the earliest. The curfew was reduced by 2 hours starting from 11:00 pm on 1 October, in response to a decreasing trend of daily cases as well as the ongoing vaccination campaign. It was eventually lifted on 10 November. In December 2021, the government announced that forthcoming
New Year's Eve In the Gregorian calendar, New Year's Eve, also known as Old Year's Day or Saint Sylvester's Day in many countries, is the evening or the entire day of the last day of the year, on 31 December. The last day of the year is commonly referred to ...
celebrations would be prohibited, enforcing a curfew from midnight to 6:00 am local time, and ordering restaurants and cafes to close at 11:30 pm.


Emergency Fund

On 15 March, King Mohammed VI announced the creation of an emergency fund (labelled as ''Fonds spécial pour la gestion de la pandémie du Coronavirus (Covid-19)'') to upgrade health infrastructure and support the worst affected economic sectors. The fund has a volume of 10 billion dirham ($1 billion).


Fighting disinformation

Some critics of the government have been arrested for allegedly spreading fake news on coronavirus.


Ramadan

The government announced that being outside shelter between the hours of 8 pm and 6 am during the Muslim holy month of
Ramadan , type = islam , longtype = Religious , image = Ramadan montage.jpg , caption=From top, left to right: A crescent moon over Sarıçam, Turkey, marking the beginning of the Islamic month of Ramadan. Ramadan Quran reading in Bandar Torkaman, Iran. ...
(1441 AH / 2020 BCE) (which started on 25 April) is strictly forbidden for any reason except for special cases, such as logistics.


Others

* On 26 March 2020, Saadeddine Othmani, the head of government, announced a country wide hiring stop until the end of the coronavirus crisis. Promotions are also to be postponed until the situation has come under control. The health and security sectors are exempted from this order. * On 6 April 2020 (effective the 7th), the government obliged its citizens to wear face masks. * The government announced that for the public sector, salaries will be cut by one day for every month for 3 months (March, April and May). * On 22 June 2020, the Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita announced the cancellation of the 2020 , the annual travel of about three million Moroccan people from Europe to Morocco during the summer months.


Statistics


Cumulative number of cases, deaths and recoveries


New cases per day


Deaths per day


Recoveries per day


By region


See also

* COVID-19 pandemic in Africa * COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory * COVID-19 vaccination in Morocco


Notes


References


External links


Official website about Covid-19 in Morocco (by Health Ministry)

Track of Covid-19 data in Morocco (by Health Ministry – Sehhty agency)

Official website for statements about Covid-19 in Morocco (by Interior Ministry)

Covid-19 news in Morocco (by Maghreb Agence of Press)

Covid-19 data & statistics in Morocco (by 2M)

Covid-19 data & statistics in Morocco (by Hespress)

Covid-19 data & statistics in Morocco (by Le360)

Statistics about Coronavirus pandemic in Morocco

Pasteur Institute in Morocco
* H. Zine, E. M. Lotfi, M. Mahrouf, A. Boukhouima, Y. Aqachmar, K. Hattaf, D. F. M. Torres and N. Yousfi, Modeling the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in Morocco. arXiv:2010.04146, 8 October 2020. * * {{#related:2019–20 coronavirus pandemic Morocco Coronavirus pandemic Coronavirus pandemic Morocco Health in Morocco Disease outbreaks in Morocco Coronavirus pandemic Coronavirus pandemic