Morocco Confident State of Emergency to End May 20

Rabat – The Moroccan government is reportedly confident the nationwide lockdown under the state of health emergency will not extend beyond the set date of May 20.

Morocco declared a state of emergency on March 19, entering lockdown the following day and suspending all non-essential economic activities.

Initially set to end on April 20, the state of emergency is effective until May 20 due to the government council’s adoption of a one-month extension on April 18.

Moroccan outlet Le360 cites government sources as expressing confidence that deconfinement will commence in the country after the current emergency state extension expires.

The outlet attributes the sources’ confidence to Morocco’s low COVID-19 mortality rate. Since the outbreak of the virus in the country on March 2, health authorities have recorded 170 total deaths due to COVID-19.

The daily death rate peaked in late March, with the Ministry of Health recording a high of 13 new deaths on March 27. Since the second week of April, new fatalities have tapered off, reaching a level significantly lower than those observed in countries with better-regarded health systems.

Morocco’s mortality rate is five deaths per 1 million inhabitants, compared to 525 deaths per 1 million inhabitants in Spain and 373 deaths per 1 million inhabitants in France.

Even Germany, one of the leading countries in COVID-19 management and response, records 79 deaths per 1 million inhabitants.

“Faced with encouraging signals from the evolution of the death curve, the government will be able to approach the end of confinement on May 20,” a government source told Le360.

“There is no other option on the table than deconfinement,” the source added, as the economy has experienced crippling stagnation due to the lockdown, adversely affecting ordinary Moroccan households.

Progressive deconfinement will mean a return to normal for the majority of activities in Morocco, excluding cafes, restaurants, and other exceptions. Wearing a mask will remain mandatory even after the state of health emergency runs its course, according to the source.

The end of confinement does not mean the disappearance of COVID-19, the source warned, saying, “We will have to live with the residue of the virus while taking all preventive measures.”