Morocco battles Covid-19 infested jails

More than 300 coronavirus cases have been detected in three of Morocco’s 73 prison facilities, Moroccan Prison Service disclosed on Tuesday.

The discoveries were made after a campaign of testing was launched for guards and inmates across the country’s prisons.

About 1,700 tests have been conducted so far with 303 cases discovered in the southern city of Ouarzazate, 5 cases each in the central city of Marrakesh, Ksar Kebir in the North and in the port city of Tangiers.

In a bid to decongest the prisons of Its nearly 80,000 inmates due to the viral outbreak, the Moroccan government had pardoned 5,650 detainees earlier in April.

Read also: Doctors detect rare covid-19 complications in infants

Since then, close to 5,500 new inmates have been registered, according to the Prison Service figures

Although, the kingdom has declared a public health state of emergency to last till May 20 with other stricter preventive measures put in place, confirmed cases of covid-19 have hit 4,252 with 165 deaths and 778 recoveries.

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