Rabat – Moroccan maritime borders will remain closed beyond February 6 in an effort to curb the spread of COVID’s latest variant Omicron.
Unlike air borders due to reopen February 7, maritime borders will remain shut until further notice, according to a memo from Morocco’s Transport and Logistics ministry.
Issued on February 4, the memo specifies that the order does not extend to maritime shipping of commercial vehicles and other forms of commercial maritime shipping.
Late last month, Morocco’s government announced that it would lift the ban on air travel early this month. Starting February 7, airlines will resume flights from and to the North African country.
The country first announced a nationwide ban on air travel days after South Africa recorded the first Omicron case in early November.
COVID-19 cases are falling down the curve, according to experts. With over 60% of its population already vaccinated, Morocco holds Africa’s highest vaccination rates, leading experts to argue that the worst is behind.
Tourism professionals welcomed the long-awaited lifting of travel as many businesses struggled to remain open amidst stagnating profits and increasing dependence on state relief packages.
While research points out that Omicron is relatively less deadly than previous COVID-19 variants, experts point out that it spreads at a much faster rate, threatening to overwhelm exhausted healthcare structures around the world.
