COVID-19 Cases Continue to Drop in Morocco

People wait to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, during a national coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Sale, Morocco January 29, 2021. (Reuters)
People wait to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, during a national coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Sale, Morocco January 29, 2021. (Reuters)
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COVID-19 Cases Continue to Drop in Morocco

People wait to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, during a national coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Sale, Morocco January 29, 2021. (Reuters)
People wait to receive the COVID-19 vaccine, during a national coronavirus vaccination campaign, in Sale, Morocco January 29, 2021. (Reuters)

Morocco has been witnessing a steady decline in COVID-19 cases for five straight weeks, Health Ministry said on Tuesday.

Head of the department of communicable diseases, Abdelkrim Meziane Bellefquih warned however, that high numbers of critical cases and deaths continue to be recorded.

During a bimonthly briefing on the outbreak in the country, he said infections fell from 42,424 cases per week recorded at the end of August to 20,562 last week, a decrease of 52 percent.

“The number of critical cases fell by 30 percent, from 2,537 two weeks ago to 1,764 until Monday while the occupancy rate of beds dedicated to critical cases rose from 50 percent to 33 percent during the same period,” he added.

Tackling the COVID-19 vaccination process, Meziane Bellefquih stressed Morocco has administered over 36 million injections, calling for the strictest compliance to preventive measures and for more people to sign up to receive the jab.



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.