Report: Morocco has arrested over 1.5m for covid breaches 

Moroccan security services have arrested more than 1.5 million people for violating COVID-19 preventative measures between July last year to 22 April this year, according to Deputy Interior Minister Noureddine Boutayeb on Monday.

Speaking during a session at the House of Representatives, the official revealed that these figures equate to more than 5,700 people being arrested every day during that nine-month period.

“Although this number seems large, it indicates a great involvement of all the authorities in charge of law enforcement” in the country’s programme to combat the coronavirus pandemic and protect citizens, Boutayeb said.

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However, World Morocco News reported that Boutayeb believes that the state of emergency introduced last March contributed significantly to controlling the spread of COVID-19.

The kingdom’s latest coronavirus statistics stand at 509,972 confirmed cases, including 496,031 recoveries and 9,005 deaths.

In spite of Morocco’s state of emergency, the local authorities in the capital Rabat issued a press release on Monday warning the public against taking part in several planned protests in defiance of the restrictions. There were also reports of a pro-Palestine sit-in in front of the parliament building yesterday.

It was not the first time that the authorities had issued similar press releases, having previously warned against calls for protests from health care workers and teachers.

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