When the head of government announced the lockdown extension on May 18, he expressed concern about the emergence of new COVID-19 hotspots.
Rabat – Morocco’s Ministry of Health has confirmed 20 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 6,972 as of 10 a.m. on May 19.
The ministry also reported 132 new recoveries, and total recoveries stand at 3,890.
Health authorities have confirmed one new fatality related to the virus, the first new death since Saturday, May 16. The country’s death toll is 193.
The Casablanca-Settat and Marrakech-Safi regions have the highest COVID-19 case counts, with 29.85% and 18.49% of the country’s total cases, respectively.
The Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region has 13.39% of Morocco’s total cases, followed by the Fez-Meknes (13.77%), Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (9.58%), Draa-Tafilalet (8.41%), and Oriental regions (2.57%).
Guelmim-Oued Noun has 0.62%, while Souss-Massa and Beni Mellal-Khenifra have 1.10% and 1.61%, respectively.
The southern regions of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (four cases) and Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab (two cases) have not reported any new cases since early April. The regions are virus-free as their only cases have recovered.
Approximately 92, 367 suspected cases have tested negative for COVID-19 since the outbreak of the virus in Morocco on March 2.
On March 18, Morocco extended its nationwide state of emergency to June 10 given the current epidemiological situation.
Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani said during the extension announcement yesterday he was “scared” when he received data about the emergence of new hotspots in the city of Casablanca.
He explained the Moroccan government decided to extend the lockdown to rein in the spread of the virus, bring hotspots under control, and keep new hotspots from developing.
