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Rabat – Morocco’s Ministries of Agriculture and Interior teamed up to set up mandatory guidelines that families, butchers, and souk managers should adopt during the 2020 Eid Al Adha celebrations.
With Eid Al Adha around the corner, the ministries released a detailed guide to ensure the compliance with preventive measures and avoid COVID-19 contamination threats.
The ministries warned that operators of all souks where livestock is sold should adopt preventive health measures.
The guide includes supervision and control of souks and areas developed by local commissions made up of local authorities and members of the Office of Food Safety (ONSSA).
Municipalities or local managers should post all of the preventive measures recommended by the Health Ministry at the entrance and inside the souk to raise awareness and remind citizens of the importance of abiding by the strict instructions.
Anyone entering the souk should be wearing a face mask. Local authorities and souk managers should make hydroalcoholic gel available at the entrance of the souk.
Citizens and souk managers should respect social distancing of at least one meter, the guide said. The measures also recommend people to use the “Wiqaytna” application, a program developed to warn people of infections in the region.
Managers of the souks and municipality authorities should also make available a register to enable identifying authorized vendors. The vendors should put their full name, identity number, as well as phone number to enable traceability of people likely infected by COVID-19.
Livestock for Eid Al Adha should be tagged with a yellow buckle bearing a unique serial number. The tag should also reference the livestock as for Eid Al Adha.
The souk managers should ensure disinfection through spraying of all means of transport in the souk parks.
Municipalities and managers should disinfect the sales areas before the opening and after closing.
The guide prohibited the marketing of livestock outside the souks. Authorities also ban the sale of livestock in closed spaces such as garages.
Authorities and managers of the souks should continue to sensitize visitors to respect preventive measures.
The guide will also allow authorities to install additional souks to increase the capacity of sales spaces nationwide.
The surface area of the souks should be on average one hectare.
The souks should be fenced by rigid welded fences. The grids should be two meters apart.
The souks should also have four emergency doors: Two doors and two exit doors, all three meters wide and two meters high.
Authorities and municipalities are the only eligible bodies to choose the location of the souks in accordance with the needs of the prefectures and provinces.
Maximum load inside the souks is 4,000 square meters for livestock, and 6,000 square meters for visitors.
Morocco will celebrate Eid Al Adha on July 31.
