Rabat – Moroccan police arrested a woman for spreading rumors about the outbreak of coronavirus in Morocco. The arrest took place on Monday.
The woman shared a video on Facebook last week warning Moroccans that authorities had detected a case of the coronavirus “2019-nCOV” case in Fez, at a Chinese restaurant called “the Great Wall.”
In the video, she said that authorities detected the first case of the virus in Morocco at the Chinese restaurant.
“Everyone is covering their noses to avoid infection,” she said.
A member of staff from the restaurant explained the situation to Morocco World News after the video went viral.
“These are all lies,” he said. He added that the restaurant’s manager had a fever so the staff called an ambulance. A doctor said that the man is only suffering from a cold. The member of the staff said the manager would file a lawsuit against the woman for spreading false rumors.
Morocco’s government already condemned the rumors about the emergence of the virus in Morocco.
Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani reassured citizens last week that no cases of coronavirus have been detected in the country.
He said Morocco is putting in place strict measures at ports and airports to detect any possible cases.
Travelers coming to Morocco by sea, air, and land routes are subject to medical examination to protect the borders of the country.
He also said that citizens publishing rumors about the outbreak of the disease “bear great responsibility” for causing terror and panic among citizens.
The outbreak of the virus is spreading fear across the world. The disease first broke out in China in December 2019. More than 400 people have died due to the virus in China, with more than 20,000 cases confirmed.
