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The Prince Moulay Abdellah Hospital in Sale, Rabat’s twin city, could soon succumb to the pressure of COVID-19 patients.
Abdellatif Soudou, the deputy mayor of Sale, said in a recent Facebook post that medical staff at the local hospital are under a lot of pressure and intensive care units are nearing full capacity.
“The new Moulay Abdellah Hospital is under significant pressure. The doctors and all the staff are feeling exhausted. Intensive care units are full. We might witness the collapse of the health system in Sale because of the huge number of COVID-19 infections,” he wrote.
Sale currently records the second-highest number of daily COVID-19 infections in Morocco, behind Casablanca. On November 8, health authorities in the city confirmed 494 new COVID-19 cases and three coronavirus-related fatalities. The figure represents more than 10% of Morocco’s daily new case count.
Soudou urged Sale residents to respect safety measures in order to get the pandemic under control and relieve pressure from the local hospital.
“Let’s watch ourselves. Let’s stop greeting people with handshakes and kisses. We need to respect preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19: Social distancing, washing hands with water and soap, avoiding crowded places, avoiding unnecessary travel,” the publication stressed.
The deputy mayor warned about the severity of COVID-19 infections, especially for people at high risk of developing critical symptoms.
“Our fathers and mothers and people with chronic conditions are in danger. They might not find a hospital bed or an oxygen bottle to save them. They might not find a doctor or a nurse to treat them. The situation is very dangerous all over the world,” Soudou wrote.
Important infrastructure on the verge of collapse
The Prince Moulay Abdellah Hospital is one of the largest medical facilities in Sale. It currently provides intensive care and treatment for all severe COVID-19 cases in the city and its surrounding towns and villages.
In March, when Morocco began recording its first COVID-19 cases, the Ministry of Health established a new intensive care unit in the hospital. The new unit added 20 beds to the intensive care capacity of the hospital.
The health ministry also equipped the hospital with 90 additional beds to host mild and suspected COVID-19 cases.
However, according to the recent testimony from the deputy mayor of Sale, the number of critical COVID-19 cases in the city will soon overtake the hospital’s capacity.
“Residents of Sale. Watch yourselves. Despite authorities’ efforts, the epidemiological situation puts our health system on the verge of collapse,” Soudou concluded.
