Rabat – Among the fears that most African countries are not prepared to face the new coronavirus, Morocco is using its experience and “human resources” to help the continent face the risks of importing the new coronavirus (COVID -19).
Moroccan health minister Khalid Ait Taleb, who leads the Moroccan delegation in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, while taking part in an extraordinary session of AU ministers on the emergency COVID-19, said that the North African country is ready to ” share its skills and experience ”with other less equipped African countries while the continent adopts measures to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
In his speech at the AU emergency meeting on COVID-19, the Moroccan minister explained the “effective measures” that Rabat has put in place since the outbreak of the virus in Wuhan, central China. He said that the global emergency around the virus means that African countries should work together to deal with the crisis on a continental basis.
Taleb made his comments in the wake of encouraging news for Morocco’s efforts to prevent the spread of the new virus.
On February 2, an aircraft of the Moroccan air carrier Royal Air Maroc carrying Moroccan citizens landed at Benslimane airport, near Casablanca, with 167 passengers on board. The return operation came after direct instructions from King Mohammed VI.
All 167 repatriated Moroccans were released from designated health facilities early this morning after their 20-day quarantine period ended without any of them showing any symptoms of the new coronavirus.
In the meantime, not many African countries are prepared. Most do not have the proper facilities or qualified personnel to deal with the Corona crisis if cases are suspected, according to a recent study on preparing Africa to prevent the spread of the deadly virus.
The author of the study, Dr. Vittoria Colizza, of the French university of the Sorbonne, said that while “African countries have recently strengthened their preparedness to handle import of COVID-19 cases… some countries remain poorly equipped. ”
The study also pointed out that the continent is “high risk”, especially given its high volume of travel and trade with China.