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A Moroccan among the people repatriated Friday, May 15, from Melilla, tested positive for the novel coronavirus. A first test confirmed his infection, although he shows no symptoms of the disease. According to sources contacted by Yabiladi in Saïdia, a city which hosts part of the repatriated Moroccan nationals, the man is a resident of Taourirt. His state of health is stable but he must remain under medical observation, awaiting a second screening.
Contacted by Yabiladi on Sunday, May 17, the president of the Nador city council, Rafiq Moujait, confirmed the positive case but indicated that all the first screenings of the other Moroccan nationals were negative. «They are also awaiting a second test in the next two to three days, to rule out any infection», he said. Since the announcement of this case, the Spanish media have reported that instructions would have been given to suspend repatriations «until further notice».
"Todo paralizado -evacuación de ciudadanos marroquíes en #Ceuta y #Melilla- hasta nueva orden", me dicen desde Rabat, a la espera de conocer el resultado definitivo desde #Casablanca del caso que dio positivo ayer en un test rápido #Covid_19 en #Oujda
— Sonia Moreno (@sonietamb) May 17, 2020
Next repatriation operation still pending
Rafiq Moujait did not mention any official decision regarding repatriation operations, but stressed that the date of return of 300 other Moroccans still stranded in Melilla is not known as of yet. «Before organizing this second phase, we will have to monitor the state of health of those already repatriated and currently quarantined. If there is nothing to report in the coming days, we plan to move them elsewhere and free the premises where they are isolating at the moment to be able to accommodate the other 300 people to be repatriated», he explained.
The operation comes after the discovery of the lifeless body of a Moroccan woman among those stranded in Melilla since the establishment of the state of health emergency due to the pandemic. The repatriation operation gave priority to women, children, the elderly and those suffering from chronic diseases.
