Morocco Receives Second Batch of 500,000 Sinopharm Doses

A health worker counts used vials of Sinopharm's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A health worker counts used vials of Sinopharm's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
TT

Morocco Receives Second Batch of 500,000 Sinopharm Doses

A health worker counts used vials of Sinopharm's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro
A health worker counts used vials of Sinopharm's coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccine, at a vaccination centre in Karachi, Pakistan February 11, 2021. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

Morocco received a second batch of 500,000 doses of China’s Sinopharm coronavirus vaccine on Tuesday, part of its national vaccination campaign, health ministry sources said.

The 1 million Sinopharm doses add to 6 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine manufactured by India’s Serum Institute which Morocco has received so far.

Morocco has ordered 66 million doses of the vaccines, which require two doses per person, under plans to inoculate 80% of its 36 million-strong population for free.

By Monday, Morocco had Africa’s largest vaccinated population of 1.7 million people. The number of infections had reached 478,595, including 8,491 deaths.

Despite a drop in daily registered cases, Morocco extended a night curfew for two weeks starting on Tuesday to contain the spread of new coronavirus variants.



Jordan Foreign Minister Safadi to Visit Damascus on Monday

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
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Jordan Foreign Minister Safadi to Visit Damascus on Monday

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024.  EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Syria's opposition leader Ahmed al-Sharaa, also known as Abu Mohammed al-Jolani, attending a press conference after a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. EPA/TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY PRESS OFFICE

Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi will visit Damascus on Monday and meet with Syria's de facto new ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa, the Jordanian foreign ministry said in a post on X.
Al-Sharaa began outlining his first government after the fall of Bashar al-Assad's regime, appointing a close ally and founding member of Hay'at Tahrir al-Sham, Asaad Hassan al-Shibani, as Foreign Minister in the interim government.
He also appointed Aisha al-Dabbas, the first woman in his government, and assigned her a newly created office focused on women's affairs.
He also appointed Marhaf Abu Qasra as Minister of Defense, and Azam Gharib, as Governor of Aleppo.
Foreign governments began reaching out to the new regime in Damascus, shortly after the United States announced the cancellation of a $10 million reward for the arrest of al-Sharaa over alleged involvement in terrorism.