Morocco's CNSS Mobilizes 3 Polyclinics With 198 Beds in COVID-19 Fight

Rabat – Morocco’s National Social Security Fund (CNSS) announced Saturday, April 18, the mobilization of three new polyclinics in an effort to stifle the spread of COVID-19.

The Tangier Polyclinic (64 beds), Marrakech Polyclinic (54 beds), and Inara Polyclinic in Casablanca (80 beds) are now available to health authorities in the three cities.

The CNSS decision joins a number of Moroccan government initiatives to prioritize support for health institutes in light of the COVID-19 crisis. Last month, the Ministry of Health supplied hospitals throughout the country with chloroquine to treat COVID-19 patients.

Morocco’s Minister of Health, Khalid Ait Taleb, affirmed on March 18 that the country has reserved 44 hospitals for patients suffering from the virus.

Since then, the Moroccan government has decided to diversify screening tests for COVID-19 as part of a strategy to prepare for the eventual end of confinement.

As of April 14, the Hassan II Regional Hospital in Agadir is now able to carry out screening tests for the novel coronavirus, using the reference technique for the diagnosis of COVID-19 in accordance with instructions from the health ministry.

In addition to Agadir’s hospital, the Ministry of Health allowed six public university hospital centers, two private clinics, and several military hospitals throughout the country to carry out screening tests to detect possible cases in their laboratories.

The new measure seeks to reduce the waiting time for results and test analyses for possible COVID-19 cases, and help to identify those who have “acquired the immunity after the recovery from coronavirus and to diagnose affected patients.”

Morocco’s Ministry of Health has confirmed a total of 2,820 COVID-19 cases as of 10 a.m. on April 19.

The number of COVID-19 related fatalities reached 138, while the number of recoveries is 322.

The government declared a state of health emergency and imposed a nationwide lockdown on March 20, initially effective until April 20. On April 18, a government council extended the state of emergency to May 20.