Social Sectors Committee Evaluates the Strategy of the Ministry of Health to Face Coronavirus
The Social Sectors Committee at the House of Representatives held a meeting on Thursday, May 28th, 2020, chaired by the Committee's chairperson, Saida Ait Bouali, with the Minister of Health Khalid Ait Taleb. The meeting discussed the topics raised by the parliamentary groups regarding the outcomes of the first phase of the sanitary lockdown. The meeting was also an occasion to evaluate the strategy adopted by the Ministry of Health to fight COVID-19.
The Minister of Health initiated the meeting by a presentation on the epidemiological situation in Morocco and the precautionary measures that were adopted. The Minister's presentation also tackled the progressive lifting of the state of public health emergency.
During the meeting, the Minister noted that "the scientific community is still identifying the characteristics of COVID-19," adding that "the world still witnesses the transmission of the virus from one geographical area to another, as it started in China and reached Brazil." Regarding the epidemiological situation in Morocco, the Minister highlighted numerous positive indicators. These include a drop in the percentage of tests with a positive result from 15% to 4% and a drop in the mortality rate from 7% to 6.42%. These drops are mainly owed to the proactive approach that included the enforcement of sanitary lockdown, the treatment protocol used in Morocco, and the increase in the number of tests, which enabled the control of the outbreak of this pandemic.
The Minister added that the number of positive cases had reached 7601 cases, with 202 deaths and 4978 recoveries. The number of currently active cases has reached 2531, while 163000 people were tested negative. Therefore, according to the official, Morocco has overcome the peak of the virus.
Mr. Ait Taleb also pointed out that these positive indications are reassuring despite the existence of some challenges. The Minister noted that "epidemiological situation is under control as 85% of the new infections were registered among contacts." The Minister also said that Morocco is currently testing over 10,000 people per day.
Also, the Minister noted that the active cases have now reached 2531, with a rate of 8 persons out of 100,000 people, which is a good number compared to the international index that sets ten persons for every 100,000 people. As for the recovery rate, the latter has reached 64%, while deaths remain between zero to two deaths daily. These results are mainly owed to injecting the patients with "enoxaparin" as soon as they reach the hospital, which lowered the mortality rate. The results are also owed to the drop in the basic reproductive rate R0, which has reached 0.76 at the national level.
The Minister noted that the "precautionary measures adopted by Morocco were efficient," and that "the extension of the sanitary lockdown was dictated by the dangers of lifting it in a hasty manner and the severe consequences of this action." The Minister also highlighted that "the preventive measures that were adopted by Morocco under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI were courageous, as the Government focused on protecting citizens since the emergence of the pandemic."
Additionally, the Minister stated that the "World Health Organization did not dictate the suspension of the treatment by chloroquine, but the suspension of its clinical trials. Yet, the decision to use it depends on the scientific conviction of doctors, who remain the only ones to decide on the efficiency of the substance in treating the virus." On the same note, the Minister explained that "the efficiency of chloroquine is linked to the first phase where the virus enters the cell." In this respect, the Minister noted that "the scientific committee in charge possesses several reports on the efficiency of this drug," and that "the Ministry has initiated measures to import raw materials of the drug, namely hydroxychloroquine sulfate and hydroxychloroquine, to avoid stock-out and interruption of treatment."
The Minister also stressed the importance of maintaining the protective measures, stating that the Ministry will follow up with Morocco's epidemiological situation until the end of the year.
In addition, Mr. Ait Taleb summarized the conditions of alleviating or lifting the sanitary lockdown in the following: a drop in the basic reproductive rate below 1%, a decrease in the number of new cases, and a drop in the mortality rate below 3%.
Mr. Ait Taleb concluded that "gradually lifting the sanitary lockdown entails the commitment of everyone to relaunch economic activities with vigilance, so as not to fall in relapse."
Following the Minister's presentation, the members of the Social Sectors Committee commended the Government's efforts to face COVID-19, under the wise leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, which made of Morocco a role model in this situation. The deputies also expressed their gratitude to the health staff and public authorities who make considerable efforts to enforce the preventive measures and protect citizens, culminating in the increase of the recovery rate and a drop in the infection rate. The deputies affirmed that these measures enabled Morocco to avoid significant human losses.
Besides, the Committee members discussed the details of monitoring and following up contacts, calling to reduce the duration required to release the results of the laboratory tests. The deputies also called for focusing on the development of the healthcare system to cope with the current needs and for giving importance to doctors and nurses through improving their work and training conditions. Also, the deputies raised questions on the mobilization of the private health sector as part of the solidarity approach to control the pandemic's outbreak. The Committee members also tackled the coordination between the different ministries to manage the next phase more efficiently.
On another note, the Committee members enquired about Moroccans stuck abroad. In this respect, the Minister of Health explained that the delay in their return is due to Morocco's epidemiological situation as their return depends on its stability. The Minister also noted that the Ministry needs to establish all protective conditions that could speed up the comeback of Moroccans stuck abroad.