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With a reassuring tone, the head of Morocco’s government took to national TV, Saturday, to inform Moroccans about the coronavirus situation in the country. After Morocco recorded 18 confirmed Covid-19 cases, Saadeddine El Othmani stressed that Moroccans «must trust health authorities and the figures they provide the public with».
«We cannot hide the truth because we have a responsibility towards the Moroccan people, towards other nations and institutions, including the World Health Organization (WHO)», El Othmani stressed.
970 beds for eventual Covid-19 patients
Regarding the sudden and drastic measures implemented by the government, including travel bans, schools shutdown and gathering restrictions, El Othmani said that they are «mainly preventive». «Some people think that because we are shutting schools down, we are hiding something. This is not true and these are just preventive measures to avoid the worst», he explained.
«Some countries did not expect things to go this fast just two weeks ago. We were very serious about this since the beginning, every day we study the situation in Morocco and abroad to determine further decisions».
During the same address, El Othmani reported that Morocco is also «well prepared» to take care of possible confirmed cases. «We have 970 beds reserved only for coronavirus, including 250 intensive care beds», he added.
Furthermore, the Head of Government reassured that up until now «there is no epicenter for the virus in Morocco», adding that unlike rumors and fake news circulating on social media «no Moroccan city is under quarantine».
For school, El Othmani urged students, teachers and parents to avoid «traveling during this period», insisting that these «are not holidays». «The Education Ministry is planning distance learning through the internet and TV», he added.
Reacting to panic buying in some cities of the Kingdom, El Othmani said that the country «has supplies and food for everyone for four months and even more for some other products». He also warned against «speculators, who are trying to take advantage of the situation».
The Prime Minister also indicated that banning mosque prayers is not an option yet and that the matter will be soon discussed with the Ministry in question.
By the end of his address, El Othmani urged Moroccans to get informed through the official channels of the government and ministries and avoid the spread of fake news, promising to act according with the law against those behind it.
