Nuevo foco de coronavirus con 120 casos en una fábrica del centro de Marruecos

An electrical wiring factory in Berrechid (central Morocco) has become a new focus of COVID-19 infection as a total of 120 cases of contagion have been detected among its workers (2,400).

Government sources told Efe that the cases were discovered yesterday after a first round of tests that lasted twelve hours, and it is not ruled out that the number may increase in the coming days, as new results are known.

Some media are advancing the authorities could subject the population of Berrechid to quarantine and close their access, as they did in the city of Safi to stop the spread of the virus after detecting more than 500 infections in several outbreaks located in the fish industry.

Industrial plants - fruit packaging, fish canning, automotive parts and electrical equipment - have become the main environment where outbreaks of coronavirus flourish in Morocco: 47% of infections have occurred in industrial plants and their surroundings.

On 14 July, the Minister of the Interior called on Moroccan employers to accuse the business community of "negligence" in the application of prevention measures and warned them that he would not hesitate to close all companies where these measures are not respected, bringing the responsible entrepreneurs to justice if necessary.

In fact, the ministry has ordered the closure of 514 industrial plants or shops for disrespect of health measures during the pandemic, of which nearly a hundred were still closed ten days ago.