Face Masks Now Compulsory in Morocco

As of today, wearing masks in Morocco will be compulsory for those allowed to go out with the outbreak of the Coronavirus, while the number of disease deaths in the country has risen to 80.

The government said in a statement that the masks would be sold at an appropriate price of 0.8 dirhams ($ 0.08) and that "placing the mask is obligatory" and that any violation would charge a penalty of "imprisonment from one to three months and a fine of between 300 and 1,300 dirhams."

On his part, Tawfiq Musharraf, spokesman for the Ministry of Industry in Morocco, told Reuters that the country intends to increase its capacity to produce masks to nearly six million ones per day next week from 3.3 million per day at the present time.

He added that textile factories across the country had been encouraged to produce masks.

So far, Morocco reported 11 new deaths from the novel coronavirus, bringing the total deaths to nearly 80, while the total number of infections reached 1120.

"If it exceeded the threshold of 1,000 injured, it means that there are epicenter in the family, where we find several families combined, consisting of several people, most of whose members have become confirmed cases of this disease," said Mohamed Al-Youbi, head of the Epidemiology Directorate at the Ministry of Health.

Morocco has imposed a state of emergency from March 20 to April 20.

On the other hand, the government revealed plans to exceed the external debt ceiling specified in the Finance Law for 2020 of 31 billion dirhams (about 3 billion dollars) due to the Covid-19 pandemic and its economic implications for the Kingdom.

The government said in a statement that the decision came to enable our country to provide for its needs of hard currency, amid negative impact of the virus over sectors such as the tourism, foreign direct investment and exporting in addition to the transfers of Moroccans living abroad.

Morocco has taken a range of measures, including helping small and medium-sized companies and supporting poor groups by disbursing dues.