Rabat – The Ministry of Health in Morocco said today that a patient infected with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) is in critical condition.
The second patient is an 89-year-old Moroccan woman who arrived in Morocco on a flight from Bologna, Italy on February 25, the director of epidemiology Mohamed Lyoubi announced a press conference.
The woman, who also suffers from a chronic disease, tested positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday.
A member of her family called the Allo Yakada hotline to inform authorities of the case, Lyoubi said.
Health authorities immediately put the woman under medical surveillance.
“The chronic disease from which she suffers weakens her immune defense system,” Lyoubi continued.
Health authorities are now attempting to identify everyone who made contact with the patient and place them under medical observation for a period of 14 days.
“As a precaution, we are monitoring the state of health of all the people who were on the plane that carried the patient,” he assured.
Lyoubi reassured that Morocco is still in a fledgling phase of the novel coronavirus outbreak.
The case of the 89-year-old woman is the second in Morocco. The Ministry of Health announced the first case on Monday, March 2.
The first COVID-19 patient arrived in Morocco by plane from Italy in February and made contact with 104 people on the flight. The ministry affirmed that they are carefully monitoring all 104 people.
About 95,000 people are infected by the coronavirus worldwide. Fatalities exceed 3,000, with a vast majority in mainland China.
