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Rabat – As Morocco’s COVID-19 cases drop and the vaccine count rises, many Moroccans await the official government announcement regarding the state of emergency and border closures.
Some politicians, including Head of government Saad Eddine El Othmani, have been vocal proponents of the extension of lockdown measures.
“The number of new cases per week increased slightly for the second week in a row, thus accordingly, the precautionary measures were extended for an additional two weeks in order to avoid the deterioration of the epidemiological situation,” El Othmani said before the announcement of the Ramadan night curfew.
Other public officials and members of the society at large are arguing for an ease of health-related lockdown measures as the country nears 16 months under a state of emergency.
Many Moroccans believe the successes of the kingdom’s vaccination campaign have afforded them the right to a return to normalcy. Currently, 14.4% of the population is fully-vaccinated.
Morocco’s state of emergency is set to expire June 10, although the government has extended the health measure monthly as it continues to record new cases of COVID-19 daily.
The government continues to update the status of its borders as nearly 54 countries are still on Morocco’s “red list.”
Moroccans stranded abroad have called on the government to provide repatriation flights but the government is opting for caution and has so far neglected to offer any special flights.
Although the government has yet to provide an official update on the status of COVID-19 in Morocco, many Moroccans are hopeful that the health-related restrictions will ease.
On May 20, the government shortened the night curfew from ten hours to five and a half hours. The current night curfew is in effect from 11:00 pm to 4:30 am.
The decision to shorten the curfew was based on the decrease in recorded cases of COVID-19.
Since the start of the pandemic in March 2020, businesses have been affected greatly. After the government announced a strict night curfew for the month of Ramadan, business owners feared they would be forced to shut their doors permanently.
Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Trade and Green & Digital Economy, Hafid Elalamy, promised small business owners that the government would support them throughout the closures but many argue that the government has yet to provide them with any financial compensation.
In early 2021, the head of government Saad Eddine El Othmani stated that the government aims to reopen by the summer. As June is fast approaching, Moroccans and travel-deprived foreigners alike are awaiting the official government announcement in the coming days.
The official state of emergency announcement is expected to come in the next two weeks, keeping in-line with the current trend of the past year.
