Morocco is set to resume domestic flights, and public transport between cities starting Thursday, June 25, reported Reuters. The government on Sunday announced it is also going to ease some other restrictive measures imposed to curb the novel coronavirus outbreak.
In an official statement, the health and interior ministries of Morocco said cafes, restaurants, sports clubs, and other services and entertainment businesses will be able to resume activity at half capacity.
The relaxation would take place in all areas except for the Marrakesh, Larache, Kenitra and Tangier-Asilah provinces, where infections remain higher. Domestic travel will resume including flights and railways, but international passenger traffic will remain suspended.
Notably, mosques and other places of worship have been shut down since the lockdown began on March 20 and the state of emergency has been extended to July 10. Schools will only reopen in September.
The two ministries said the decision to ease the lockdown was based on data from tracking efforts of the epidemiological situation in the kingdom.
Morocco has been on lockdown since March 20. On Sunday, 138 new COVID-19 cases were reported, raising the total number of confirmed cases in the North African country to 9,977.
Hind Ezzine, head of the Department of Epidemic Diseases of the Ministry of Health, said the number of recovered patients increased to 8,284 with 61 new recoveries, while the death toll rose to 214 as one new fatality was recorded in the last 24 hours.
In addition, 5,131 others who had contacts with the coronavirus patients are still under medical surveillance, and 14 patients are in intensive care units.
The COVID-19 death rate in Morocco stabilizes at 2.2 percent, and the recovery rate at 83 percent, the official noted.
According to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University in the US, the coronavirus pandemic has killed more than 460,200 worldwide, with more than 8.67 million confirmed cases, while recoveries have surpassed 4.25 million.
