The number of Covid-19 positive cases in Morocco has significantly increased over the past two weeks, the ministry of Health said on Tuesday in its bi-monthly review of the epidemiological situation, adding that this increase has affected all regions of the Kingdom without exception.
The head of the division of communicable diseases, Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih, who presented this report in Rabat, highlighted a "significant increase" of 91% of positive cases during the period from 6 to 19 July, confirming that the Kingdom is entering a new stage of propagation of the virus.
To this effect, the rate of positivity has increased from 4.56% to 10.7%. This upward trend has mainly concerned the Casablanca-Settat region (21.3%), against 2.6% in Fez-Meknes, the lowest rate.
Overall, Morocco has recorded 558,785 positive cases since the outbreak of the pandemic, with an incidence rate of nearly 1,535 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. These indicators place the Kingdom in 42nd place worldwide and second in Africa.
In addition, the reproduction rate of Covid-19 has worsened to 1.45 nationally during the last two weeks, the official warned, noting that it "is far from the target of 0.7 set under the national plan to monitor and control Covid-19".
Active cases rose to 15,253, compared to 5,535 two weeks earlier (+175%), he added, highlighting the worrying increase in critical cases over the past two weeks. Indeed, new serious infections rose from 236 to 413 on Monday, i.e. an increase of 75%.
The total death toll reached 9,466 cases as of 19 July 2021, representing a case-fatality rate of 1.7%, below the global average of 2.2%. Meziane Bellefquih said that 81 fatalities were recorded last week, the highest death toll in 5 months. The recovery rate stands at around 97.3%.
In addition, Covid-19 virus testing recorded a significant progression, passing from 105.000 tests per week to 140.000 tests carried out last week, that is to say nearly 20.000 tests per day, he stressed. Morocco has carried out, until Monday, more than 6.645 million tests, thus ranking second at the continental level.
Meziane Bellefquih reported a remarkable change in terms of indicators, which foreshadows the sensitive nature of the next stage, affirming: "Either we are going to pull ourselves together in all firmness and responsibility and bring the curve back to a positive trajectory, or we are going to resign ourselves to an epidemiological relapse in which all the gains made risk being wiped out".
To this end, the ministry of Health urges citizens to show a high sense of responsibility and vigilance in order to preserve what has been achieved and avoid any resurgence of the pandemic.
