Morocco’s Lower House to Discuss Lockdown Lifting Strategy June 11

Rabat – The House of Representatives, or the Lower House of Moroccan Parliament, is set to discuss the government’s strategy for lifting the lockdown in Morocco during the monthly general policy session on June 11.

Lower House Speaker Habib El Malki said on Tuesday the officers of the House agreed on the session’s date in coordination with Head of Government Saad Eddine El Othmani.

In a press release on June 3, the members of the Lower House bureau stressed the importance of the standing committees’ meetings last week and those scheduled for next week. The meetings provide an opportunity for the committees to ask questions related to the state of health emergency and learn about the measures taken, the source added.

During the weekly plenary session of oral questions scheduled for Monday, June 8, the Lower House has agreed to focus on tourism, craft, air transport, and social economy.

Is Morocco ready for deconfinement?

Morocco declared a state of emergency on March 19 and entered lockdown the following day, limiting individuals’ movement, barring international and inter-city travel, and suspending non-essential economic activity. Originally set to lift on April 20, the Moroccan government extended the state of emergency to May 20 and again to June 10.

The Moroccan government has yet to formally announce a concrete deconfinement strategy, but the scheduled end date of the nationwide lockdown is fast approaching. Given the rapidly increasing COVID-19 recovery rate, Moroccan citizens and residents are hopeful the country’s lockdown extension to June 10 will be its last.

Some business activities have resumed and various ministries are gearing up with new protocols to safely protect Moroccan employers, workers, and their patrons from virus outbreaks.

According to the Ministry of Health, lifting the lockdown hinges on Morocco’s COVID-19 transmission rate, or “R0” rate.

R0 refers to the average rate of virus transmission from a single infected person. Health Minister Khalid Ait Taleb said on May 1 the R0 must be less than 1.0 for over two weeks before the country can safely lift the lockdown, meaning each virus carrier would transmit the virus, on average, to fewer than one person.

The R0 rate dipped below 1.0 before May 20, the end date of the second extension, but it lacked the consistency needed to ensure safe deconfinement.

The lockdown lifting also requires a decrease in the number of new infections compared to the total number of diagnostic tests for people in contact with infected persons.

Current COVID-19 figures appear promising. Morocco confirmed 434 recoveries and 26 new cases on Monday, June 1, 517 recoveries and 33 new cases on Tuesday, and 456 recoveries and 56 new cases on Wednesday.

In just three days, 1,407 COVID-19 patients recovered from the virus while Morocco’s total cases increased by just 115. The country has 850 active cases compared to 6,866 recoveries, placing the recovery rate at 86.7%. With 206 deaths, the fatality rate stands at 2.6%.

If the trend continues, Morocco should be able to safely relax COVID-19 curbs come June 10.