Soon the end of more than two months of closure.

Morocco has decided to reopen, from February 7, the airspace to flights to and from the country, according to a statement released Thursday, January 27 by the MAP agency. 

Authorities were under pressure from a bankrupt tourism sector and Moroccans stranded abroad to unblock borders closed since November 29 due to an outbreak of the Omicron variant.

"This decision comes in accordance with the legal provisions relating to the management of the state of health emergency and following the recommendations of the scientific and technical commission and taking into account the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the kingdom", indicates the press release.

"To support the implementation of this decision, a technical committee is currently examining the measures to be adopted at border posts and the conditions required for travelers, which will be announced later", specifies the same source.

Prolonged state of health emergency

The government also extended Thursday the state of health emergency in force since 2020, throughout the territory, until February 28.

The border closures have hit the tourism, hotel and catering industry hard, a vital sector for the kingdom's economy.

Despite the announcement of a two billion dirham (190 million euro) tourism support plan, tourist operators demonstrated on Wednesday across the kingdom to demand the reopening of borders.

The closure of the airspace has raised strong protests from the large Moroccan diaspora, especially since some private jet companies operated connections to Morocco at exorbitant prices - more than 10,000 euros per passenger for a one-way trip. simple - according to news sites and testimonials on social networks.

If the peak of contaminations with the Omicron variant seems to have been reached during the week of January 17 to 23, according to the Ministry of Health, the authorities are nevertheless worried about an increase in cases in intensive care.

Vaccine

With its 36 million inhabitants, the Maghreb country is banking on its vaccination campaign and "national solidarity" to stem the epidemic: more than 23 million people have received a second dose of vaccine.

The authorities' objective is to immunize 80% of the population, or some 30 million people, with the Sinopharm and Pfizer/BioNTech vaccines.

On Thursday, King Mohammed VI inaugurated the construction site of an anti-Covid vaccine manufacturing plant, which should start production next July, in Benslimane, in the region of Casablanca, the economic capital. 

Called SENSYO Pharmatech, this plant will be dedicated to “the manufacture and syringe placement of vaccines (anti-Covid and other vaccines)” and will have “three industrial lines whose combined production capacity will reach 116 million units in 2024” , details the MAP.

This company, in partnership with the Swedish company Recipharm, "will make it possible to ensure the self-sufficiency of the kingdom in terms of vaccines", according to the agency.

With AFP

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