COVID-19 IN MOROCCO

Tuesday, march 3rd, 2020 the news has only one name in Morocco: THE CORONAVIRUS, confirmation of the first case, which occurred the previous evening, Monday march 2nd, was awaited. Nevertheless, it casts a shadow over everyday life. It's now that future of the health situation is at stake. The year 2020 is really not easy, after the drought, here is the coronavirus, everyone must ask themselves what they can do at their simple level rather expecting everything from the state and all of us can do.
Schematically, the extent of the damage of the coronavirus in Morocco depends on the control of the following subjects: EARLY WARNING, MEASURES TAKEN AT THE FIRST CONFIRMATION. These two subjects are the essential, everything is played out now and the citizen has a vital role to play.
* EARLY DETECTION: We have no way of measuring quality of the detection system in place at this stage, It's mainly located at borders, ports and airports and targets mainly travelers from a country already affected by the epidemic, But we knew one thing: the virus would arrive to Morocco and therefor, the sooner the confirmation will have been made, the better it will be contain or prevent its spread.
* IDENTIFY AND PROTECT: The patient hospitalized since yesterday at MOULAY TOUSSEF CASABLANCA arrived to Morocco at the end of February according to the newspapers, during these few days he was in contact with dozens or hundreds of people. So how many of them have been infected? this is the question. The Moroccan watch and vigilance system has provided those  CONTACT CASES, people whom are or was in contact with confirmed patients are as much as possible identified, sensitized and subjected to two daily temperature readings for 14 days, if symptoms suggestive of COVID-19 appear these people are tested.
* GATHERINGS CANCELED IF NECESSARY: Decisions will be made on case by case basis, the first major event canceled was on Monday evening.
* EXTREME MEASURES: Confinement, Quarantine, Drastic border controls. The Moroccan authorities do not rule out any measure including the most extreme they are preparing a plan to deal with a major epidemic if necessary, even if it's at the stage unlikely in the event of an epidemic outbreak "several cases in a limited area", quarantine and isolation measures in neighborhoods or urban centers are not excluded.
On the sidelines of the press conference the prime minister of Morocco gave on Monday march 2nd, 2020 recommended changing some habits like shaking hands or kissing for salutation, In almost the majority of cases the virus spreads through the nose, mouth, eyes and hands the two essential physical vectors are air and hands, each of us must wash our hands frequently and if there is no water use disinfectant gels. As much as possible avoid contact by hands because a hand which has been in contact with the virus and which one bring to hi mouth will transport the virus. For air we have to avoid confined spaces and gatherings prefer ventilated spaces.
The government currently has 12 million masks and continues to acquire them according to the Minister of Health masks would be distributed if necessary.
Consequences in Morocco and in the World, a huge drop in the demand for visas is noted and should worsen in the coming days after the confirmation of the first case in Morocco, visas granted are put in hold and trips have been canceled, because people are afraid to travel abroad, some say they prefer not to travel during this time others "not very numerous" are ready to travel despite the  epidemic. Schengen visa holders, in particular give up taking advantage of the precious sesame: This is not the time to go for travels especially the countries where the virus is spreading. Some people wonder if the borders with Europe are still open, rumors of possible border closings make matters even more complicated, in general the fears and the withdrawals are very present.

At this point, let us also recall the temporary suspension of Umrah, announced last Friday by Saudi Arabia. Moroccan tour operators are still awaiting new directives to resume departures for Umrah. Postponements and cancellations are inevitable. A meeting will be organized between the federation and the ministry responsible to find solutions in this very sensitive period, announces Mr. Benazzouz. The decisions to be made following this meeting will be communicated within the next two days. The president of the ARVC does not hide his wish to be able to take, with the authorities, tax incentives in particular to deal with the crisis. 

It should be noted that the epidemic of new COVID-19 exceeded Monday, March 2, the death toll of 3,000 deaths worldwide and continues to have serious consequences across the planet, in particular economic with a risk of recession in Germany, Italy and lower global growth. The spread is accelerating outside of China. In the latter country where the disease was born, the spread is on the contrary slowed down. In Italy, 500 new cases were identified Sunday, a spectacular jump which brings the number of contagions to nearly 1,700 in the country. Five new deaths have also been reported, bringing the death toll to 34 deaths in the peninsula, still in three regions of the north of the country: Lombardy, Emilia-Romagna and Veneto. In France a new acute center of contamination in Europe, lists 130 cases and two deaths, The epidemic also makes fear a global economic crisis.

A cell has been created within the federation to reflect and follow the situation closely, Mohamed Lyoubi, director of epidemiology and disease control at the Ministry of Health, once again reassured the situation in Morocco: According to a new report released Thursday morning in Morocco, 19 cases are suspected, but only one case has been confirmed, He also assured that the Ministry of Health is ready if a other cases are confirmed in the Kingdom, he also returned to the definition of this virus, how it was detected, and the current situation at the global level.