The unofficial number of COVID-19 cases among health staff reached 825.
Rabat – Morocco’s health technicians and nurses movement has warned about an increase in COVID-19 cases among medical staff.
The movement announced the news in a Facebook post on October 17, condemning the absence of official statistics about the number of cases among nurses.
According to the movement, Morocco has confirmed more than 200 COVID-19 cases among nurses during the past few weeks.
The number of cases among health staff reached 825, the group said.
The nurses and health technicians movement finds the number small, suggesting there could be more.
“More than 200 cases were confirmed inside hospitals and health centers. [It is] a small number that we reached …. The Ministry is still silent about the real number.”
The movement said that tracking the number of COVID-19 cases among health technicians and nurses was an “independent effort” due to Morocco’s lack of official statistics.
The group of health personnel also made information available on their Facebook page about the nurses infected with COVID-19, and the city where they work, without providing names.
Moroccan television channel 2M quoted today a source from the movement who announced the group’s plans to go on strike.
The protests are not the first of their kind. The movement already organized regional demonstrations at health directorates calling for certain demands, such as proper compensation given occupational risk.
The vows come after Morocco’s Public Sector Doctors Union announced their plan to organize a 48-hour national strike, which will take place next month from November 4-5.
The union said it will launch the national strike to protest the government’s “incomprehensible” approach to their demands.
The vows are in line with the union’s determination to continue to urge the government to meet its demands.
Last year, protests swept the country, with doctors and nurses condemning the lack of equipment and appropriate work conditions at health facilities.
The concerns continue amid the COVID-19 crisis, especially alongside the rapid increase of cases within Morocco’s general population and medical staff, such as nurses.
Morocco continues to struggle to limit the spread of the pandemic, which has claimed the lives of 2,976 people so far with a fatality rate of 1.69%.
The number and mortality rate are low compared to many other countries, but health authorities and government officials are sharing concerns about the situation as case counts continue to rise.
Morocco continues to count over 3,000 cases on a daily basis, with the total number of COVID-19 infections standing at 175,749 as of October 19.
Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani announced Monday that the country is in negotiations with several companies to secure a vaccine to limit the spread of the pandemic.
