Rabat – Local authorities in the Fahs-Anjra province, near Tangier, are set to close all beaches in the province starting Tuesday at midnight.
The decision comes after a large number of citizens violated preventive measures against COVID-19 while frequenting beaches. It also comes after Fahs-Anjra beaches witnessed a significant increase in visitors in recent days.
Since Sunday, local authorities have notified the owners of tourist accommodations near the beaches to stop renting bungalows and apartments for visitors.
The decision, signed by Fahs-Anjra Governor Abdelkhaleq Marzouki, gives local authorities the right to intervene against citizens who violate the new measure and attempt to visit beaches.
The Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region has reported the second-highest number of COVID-19 cases since the start of the domestic outbreak in Morocco. As of August 24, the region has confirmed 9,202 infections.
The majority of the cases are located in the Tangier-Asilah and Fahs-Anjra provinces. The latter hosts the Tangier Free Zone, where several industrial production units fostered COVID-19 hotspots.
The closure of beaches in the Fahs-Anjra province near Tangier follows a trend that several Moroccan regions adopted to curb the spread of COVID-19 during the summer.
In the last week, the Moroccan government closed all beaches in Casablanca, Benslimane, Dar Bouazza, and Berrechid.
Meanwhile, authorities restricted access to beaches in the Temara-Skhirat province to early morning hours, banning visitors after 10 a.m.
The strict preventive measures come after Morocco averaged over 1,000 new COVID-19 cases per day for several weeks. The surge in cases has pushed the country’s total case count to 53,252 as of August 24. The cases include 37,478 recoveries and 920 deaths.
