25 – 27 July, 2020


From sunday july 26 at midnight, ban on travel to and from several cities in Morocco

A joint press release from the Ministry of Interior and Health said that in view of the significant increase in recent days in the number of COVID-19 infections in a number of cities and provinces, it has been decided from Sunday 26 July at midnight to ban travel to and from the cities of Tangier. Tetouan, Fez, Meknes, Casablanca, Berrechid, Settat and Marrakech.

Here is the text of the press release “In view of the significant increase in recent days in the number of COVID-19 infections in Moroccan regions and cities, and based on daily monitoring summaries and a periodic assessment of the epidemiological situation in the country, and as part of the strengthening of the measures taken to limit the spread of this epidemic, as of Sunday 26 July at midnight, it was decided to prevent any movement from or towards the cities of Tangier, Tetouan, Fez, Meknes, Casablanca, Berrechid, Settat and Marrakech.

Exceptions to this decision include persons with urgent medical problems and individuals working in the public or private sector who have travel permits from their employers and exceptional travel authorizations issued by local authorities.

It should be noted that this prohibition does not include the movement of goods and basic materials that are carried out under normal conditions, so as to ensure that citizens are satisfied with all their daily needs.

This decision was taken in view of the lack of respect by the majority of citizens for the preventive measures taken, such as physical distancing, the use of masks and the use of preventive methods, although they are widely available on the markets. As a result, the infection has increased and the number of confirmed cases has risen.

In view of this situation, the public authorities call on all citizens to comply fully with these measures, failing which offenders will be subject to strict restrictive procedures in accordance with the law.

For more information, please consult (in Arabic) the following link.

Ministry of the Interior: the wearing of a mask is mandatory and the penalties are as follows

The Moroccan Ministry of Interior said Saturday morning that wearing a mask to prevent COVID-19 is mandatory and that any violation will be punished.

In a communication received by the newspaper Hespress, the ministry concerned said that in a constant and continuous concern to protect the health and safety of citizens and to limit the spread of the virus, and given that some people did not comply with the prevention measures, the authorities said that the wearing of a mask is mandatory when leaving one’s residence and mandatory controls will be put in place in different cities.

The official statement continued that “anyone who violates this provision is liable to the penalties provided for in article 4 of Decree-Law No. 2.20.292, which provides for the penalty of “imprisonment for one to three months and a fine of 300 to 1,300 dirhams, or either of these two penalties, without prejudice to the most severe criminal sanction. ”

In this respect, the source continues, the public authorities underline their firm determination to strictly apply the mandatory controls as they will not hesitate with full determination and responsibility to impose the legal sanctions provided for any person who has proven to violate the mandatory status of wearing a face mask and would constitute a threat to health security and public order.

For more information, please consult (in Arabic) the following link, the text of the press release is available on the following link.