The Government of Morocco has announced that all cafes, restaurants, cinemas, theatres, clubs, gyms and entertainment venues will close today starting at 6pm (5pm GMT), in addition to the closure of schools, which is also in force now, as a preventive measure to limit the spread of the coronavirus.
However, the closure order doesn’t include the country’s 51,000 mosques and the midday Friday prayers, which attracted thousands of people last week.
The press release issued by the Ministry of Interior said the only establishments allowed to remain open would be shops selling basic foodstuffs, restaurants that offer a food delivery service and souks.
It also calls on citizens to “avoid going to crowded places” and respect the norms “with a sense of responsibility and patriotism” in this exceptional situation, even though only 29 confirmed cases of coronavirus have been recorded so far.
The government also announced the closure of airspace and the suspension of all international commercial flights.
