Rabat – Security services announced on Monday a three-day lockdown in the city of Dakhla, southern Morocco after the detection of 40 cases of the new COVID-19 strain.
Salima Saasaa the regional director of health in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region said that the state of health of people who tested positive for the new variant dubbed the “British strain” is stable and does not cause any concern.
The patients are in quarantine while being treated.
Both the patients and contacts were treated in accordance with health protocols in force to contain the spread of COVID-19.
Saasaa said that authorities took a “battery of measures in the region” as part of the national monitoring and control plan.
The directorate of health in the region also updated the measures for the management of COVID-19 cases, taking into account the epidemiological situation at the national and global levels.
Saassaa urged citizens to comply with all preventive measures to limit the spread of the pandemic.
The lockdown measure is part of Morocco’s state of emergency.
Morocco introduced the state of emergency in March 2020 to limit the spread of COVID-19. The measure helps authorities to take proactive actions in the case of a COVID-19 hotspot outbreak.
Under the state of emergency, Morocco’s government decided to extend curfew measures for two more weeks.
The country reintroduced the curfew in December to fight against the pandemic’s spread.
Following the recent measures, Moroccan citizens expressed concerns, questioning whether authorities will expand measures across the country.
Citizens are also waiting for what the government will decide during Ramadan.
2020 Ramadan was exceptional as the country’s services imposed a total lockdown and a curfew. The measures prevented citizens from performing taraweeh (evening extra prayers) at mosques during Ramadan.
Ramadan 2021 is expected to take place on April 12 in Morocco.
Will Morocco impose tight lockdown measures again? This is a question that all Moroccans and residents in the country will explore in the coming weeks.
