Moroccan government will stop people from entering and leaving some of its biggest cities, including Casablanca, Marrakech and Tangier from midnight to contain a surge in coronavirus cases.
Khalid Ait Taleb, Minister of Health last Saturday warned that reimposing total lockdown in Morocco remains a possible option in the event of non-compliance with preventive measures against the spread of COVID-19.
Warnings came after the health ministry reported 633 new cases, one of the biggest daily rises so far.
Minister Khalid warned against the likelihood of the disease spread as the country is set to celebrate Eidh Adha on July31. He urged Muslims to be observant during the celebrations as they bring together many people in families.
The North African state has been ranked the first in the region and second on the continent for carrying out COVID-19 mass tests to assess the cause of corona virus.
Morocco is not the only state that is reimposing corona virus lockdown. Most countries of the world which had reopened first are gradually resorting to shutdowns with the most recent being Austria.
Restaurants and clubs in Austria have been ordered to close early and urged people to avoid going out as it grapples with a new outbreak of the coronavirus.
The shutdowns follow moments after hundreds of people were tested in the town of St Wolfgang, east of Salzburg on Friday and at least 44 tested positive, 26 of whom are interns working in the tourism industry, Austria’s Kurier newspaper reported.
According to a local Media, the individuals were thought to have become infected while partying in the town’s bars, two of which have now been temporarily closed to prevent further spread.
Austria had relaxed many coronavirus restrictions in recent weeks, but has seen a rise in the number of infections lately.
Chancellor Sebastian Kurz last week announced that the country was reintroducing mandatory face masks again in supermarkets, smaller grocery stores, post offices and banks.
