Indian coronavirus variant lands in Morocco and Algeria
Two cases have been recorded in Casablanca and six in Tipaza province.
JOHANNESBURG, May 4 (ANA) – Morocco and Algeria have reported their first cases of the Indian coronavirus variant, according to Sputnik International.
According to the news platform, the Moroccan health ministry recorded two cases of the variant in the country’s most populous city, Casablanca.
The Pasteur Institute, an entity of the Algerian health ministry, revealed that six cases of the variant were detected in the Tipaza province in the northern region of the country, Sputnik International reported.
On April 28, AfricaNews reported that 1.5 million Moroccan citizens had been arrested between July last year and April this year for breaching coronavirus measures, according to the country’s Deputy Interior Minister Noureddine Boutayeb.
“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 was quoted as saying.
On April 30, Asharq Al-Awsat reported that Algerian Health Minister Abdel Rahman Ben Bouzid said he would prefer a third wave to hit the country so that citizens would be more responsible and adhere to measures, including the wearing of masks as well as social distancing.
In its latest update, Morocco’s health ministry has reported 511,912 coronavirus cases, with 498,624 recoveries and 9,032 Covid-19-related deaths.
Meanwhile, the health ministry in Algeria has reported 122,717 cases of Covid-19, including 85,534 recoveries and 3,280 deaths.
India has recorded more than 300,000 new coronavirus cases a day for the past 10 days and has over 20 million cases and more than 222,000 deaths.
– African News Agency (ANA); Editing by Yaron Blecher