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Rabat – Morocco’s health system is ready to face the new COVID-19 variant in terms of available hospital capacity, resuscitation, and necessary equipment, Morocco’s Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb said on December 27.
The official made his remarks responding to a question from MPs during a special hearing at the House of Representatives. Ait Taleb said Morocco’s health system has gained the necessary knowledge from the pandemic and is now “able to adapt to the management of the epidemiological situation.”
“In the event of an epidemic setback, the health system is ready to face the new variant,” Ait Taleb said, noting that Omicron is less dangerous than the Alpha and Delta strains.
He acknowledged, however, that Omicron is known for its rapid spread, citing certain ambiguity around the variant as health professionals do not know its effects in the medium term.
Morocco “can limit the number of cases of the new variant, which is five times more contagious than ‘Delta,’ and this through the respect of preventive measures and the acceleration of the taking of the third booster dose, which boosts immunity against Omicron to 75%,” he said.
Ait Taleb emphasized the need to maintain a high level of surveillance and vigilance, including monitoring the epidemiological situation in Europe and the rest of the world.
“Morocco is not immune to a new setback especially after the emergence of a fifth wave in Europe,” he concluded.
Mouad Mrabet, a health official at the Health Ministry, warned on Sunday that Morocco entered a third wave, calling for vigilance. “The current wave will probably be faster and shorter than the Delta wave,” Mrabent said.
Mrabent forecasts a peak during the week between January 17-23.
