COVID-19 - Morocco Master Thread

[Tim Cullis]

The news about having to leave by 10 August was released a couple of days ago. Due to the lockdown, the Moroccan government allowed non residents to remain in the country past the 90 day limit that is normally given to visitors. The government has now announced that with the relaxation of travel restrictions from 15 July, non-residents are now permitted to leave the country and indeed MUST LEAVE BY 10 AUGUST.

This should not be a problem for most visitors still in the country, except those wishing to exit via ferry to Spain as the borders are not open and ferries are not running.

I am aware of a couple of people who have tried to get an extension until after 10 August and they have been turned away by the authorities in Casablanca.

MoroccoWorldNews report: https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/202...-by-august-10/

Not sure how much I would make of the fact there's no mention of this on the FCO travel advice. Was the reconfirmation with the UK Ambassador after 16 July?

[TheWarden]

Thats not the case, Morocco has made no official announcement about visas since the 17th of March statement that overstay will not be penalised during the state of emergency.

MWN's original headline stated that people had to leave but the article content didn't say anything like that. It said that there will be no fines for overstaying if you leave before the 10th of August, the same as the situation has been for the last few months. Following a lot of criticism they eventually edited the headline to the one linked above which cites the US embassy as a source.

It goes on the say people MAY have to go through the process of legalising their visa states.

Even the US Embassy information does not say people must leave by the 10th. The other source sometime posted allegedly saying people have to leave is the German embassy. But again the statement from the german embassy doesn't actually say people have to leave.

Neither the French, Spanish or UK embassies have changed thier information about visas or having to leave the county.

Despite this "news" circulating for several days now, nobody has been able to provide an official statement from the Moroccan Government that confirms it.

The reality of the situation (ignoring MWN's poor reputation for accurate reporting) is that overstays will not be penalised during the State of Emergency. The current SOE ends on the 10th. At the moment no one knows what will happen after the 10th until Morocco decides. So they are just stating the same situation as things have been for the last few months.

The UK Embassy have stated officially that people DO NOT have to leave by the 10th. The confirmation of this following the meeting between the UK Ambassador and Moroccan Foreign Minister was made YESTERDAY. The Foreign Minister confirmed that while the borders stay closed there will be no fines for overstays.

Other news
Reports yesterday that a ferry from Genoa to Tanger Med has been stopped from docking after 3 cases of CORVID-19 were found on board. The reports state that the ferry is anchored somewhere between Malaga and Morocco, however searches on Marinetraffic.com have failed to locate the ferry. There was a ferry from Sete anchored of Tanger Med which late last night docked at Tanger Med

[Tim Cullis]

One of the fascinating things about this pandemic is the terrible job many countries have made of communicating decisions and public information in a clear and precise manner.

I see the MWN report has changed its wording since I first linked it, and it now says, "non-resident foreigners who were unable to leave Morocco within the normal 90-day limit will be permitted to exit without penalty until the end of Morocco’s state of emergency on August 10. Those who do not leave before the specified time may need to go through a legal process of fixing their immigration status and could be subject to fines or imprisonment."

The US government site states, "The Government of Morocco has also announced the partial reopening of its borders... starting on July 15... to allow Moroccan residents to return and foreign citizens to depart the country. Under this special operation, U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents (LPRs) in Morocco will be permitted to depart the country. According to the Ministry of Interior, non-resident foreign citizens who were unable to depart Morocco within the normal 90-day limit will be permitted to exit without a fine until August 10."

My reading of both of the above is that foreign non residents MUST leave the country by 10 August to avoid a fine and possible future exclusion. I can only pass on what I read. If anything I post is my personal view I make this clear.

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A little taster of the real world situation for Moroccans trying to take a ferry back to Morocco... https://www.h24info.ma/maroc/pagaill...tion-du-maroc/

A more positive report: https://www.h24info.ma/maroc/nador-a...nance-de-sete/

________________________________

In the meantime, Morocco is moving today (Sunday 19 July 2020) to the third phase of gradual lifting of the lockdown. It is not clear whether this affects the whole country, but I imagine the regions currently most restricted (Tanger, Asilah, Larache, Kenitra, Safi and Marrakech) are NOT included, but if you are likely to be affected you should check my supposition.

Under the third phase, tourist establishments such as hotels are able to operate at 100% capacity however at only 50% capacity in common areas such as restaurants and swimming pools. Small gatherings of less than 20 people are allowed. Public transport may now operate at 75% capacity. Museums and other cultural institutions can reopen at 50%.

[TheWarden]

I really don't see how either statement can be interpreted as a MUST leave when its dependent on the SOE finishing. We've already seen it extended several times now and it could well be extended past the 10th August. For the requirement to be a MUST leave then the borders need to be fully open and the SOE finished.

Also a bit weird how the Moroccan Authorities are advising the US one thing and the UK another, and there's still no official statement from the Moroccan Government on the matter.

Then theres the stories emerging over the last 48hours of people trying to leave and being denied travel or sent back to Morocco because of their nationality. US citizens in particular seem to be having a hard time. One reported landing in Europe yesterday to transit back to the states and getting put straight back on a flight to Morocco.

France has now stopped the Sete ferries running until the 22nd, something that was rumoured yesterday. Leaving people the only option of a repat ferry to Spain or a GNV ferry to Genoa, leaving limited options for people with vehicles to leave.

[Tim Cullis]

The problem is, we are trying to make sense of a situation in which the information being supplied is incomplete, possibly inaccurate and put together by amateur journalists at Morocco World News who seem incapable of following up stories (I say this as an NUJ press card-carrying journalist of more than ten years).

The British Embassy in Rabat has been lamentable throughout this crisis with no clear means of communication with citizens—it would have been SOOO easy to set up a Facebook account dedicated to announcements. And in the middle of this confusion about whether or not foreigners should leave I can't find a single message from the Embassy trying to clarify this one way or the other. And even if I could, I don't know if I would trust it to be true based on all the c*ck-ups from the Embassy so far. So this is my current reading of the situation...

On 17 March the Moroccan Ministry of Interior announced that "foreigners who recently entered Morocco and were unable to depart the country within 90 days due to the closure of borders and airspace will be permitted to exit without a fine when the borders and airspace reopen."

The borders and airspace have now been reopened for non-resident foreigners and they are being asked to leave.

IMHO I believe choosing a date of 10 August as the day by which these visitors must leave the country confuses the situation as people then think it's to do with the State of Health Emergency. The declaration of emergency merely gives the government additional powers, it's not directly related to the timing of any of the decisions the government makes.

Yes, this won't run smoothly—Royal Air Maroc has refused boarding to a couple who bought tickets to Istanbul (to where they were legally able to travel), one person who is in Morocco to get married has been refused an extension, you've noted others.

We are both aware that some visitors still can't leave with their vehicles, and some ferry services are said to be affected by infections amongst the crew. But the authorities are allowing an extension of the temporary importation until the end of the year so it sounds like they are expected to fly home and return to collect their vehicle towards the end of this year—if they are allowed back in by then!!

And yes, some may now have limited funds for the flights, but their Embassy may be able to help. Some Embassies hold onto their passport as surety for any loan and issue temporary documents to travel back home on. This is the UK government's page on assistance: https://www.gov.uk/government/public...istance-abroad

Whether it's the 10 August or a later date, there's the issue of how do the authorities inform all the non-resident foreigners currently in Morocco of the need to leave? Will this require individual visits from the police using the information on the accommodation registration card system?

All of this is my reading of the limited information currently to hand. I could be wrong on some or all of it. I'm not the only one who is confused, Moroccans are also complaining on other news sites about the lack of clarity on this issue.

[TheWarden]

A frustrating situation for all.

Our embassy continue to be useless for those trying to get out. I've spent a lot of time over the last few weeks helping those still there with info. So far 1 family with young children and the rest of my Imsouane lock down gang are either out or leave this week on repat ferries to Spain.

But I have another contact who has been trying to get a place via the embassy for 8 weeks and has been completely overlooked. The contact at the embassy doesn't respond and then, if they do lies about the information. I've given the people looking for a ferry another way of reaching more senior people and it seems to be having some effect.

Theres still quite a few Brits ambling around morocco in vans etc who seem quite happy at the moment

[TheWarden]

Swedish, Australian and Candian Embassies have all confirmed that ther is not requirement to leave before the 10th of August now. Several people have also had this confirmed when trying to extend visas with local authorities.

Today the Morocco Desert Challenge have decided to postpone the 2020 event (rescheduled for September) until 2021. This is a decision made by the competitors and organisers rather than due to the situation in Morocco, mostly because of uncertainty with further outbreaks. Full announcement on th MDC Webpage and social media

[TheWarden]

New lockdowns in the big Cities this week starting last Sunday at midnight prompted unprecedented scenes as people tried to get out in time. Massive traffic jams and lots of bad accidents on the roads as a result.

The new lockdowns were implemented as a result of the increasing number of active cases over the end of last week and the weekend. Unfortunately the mass exodus as already resulted in Coronavirus cases being discovered in areas which had remained free so far. 2 cases brought into Boudenib yesterday by people fleeing Tangier.

UK Embassy has changed its position on the rumoured 10th of August deadline as of Friday. However they decided not to publish the information widely. I had to email embassy contacts to confirm the change and remind them to update the Social Media and FCO pages

Yesterday the French Embassy updated their advice, but no mention of the 10th of August deadline (nor any official statement from the Moroccan Gov yet). Several reports online of people asking the authorities and getting contradictory information.

At face value it seems Morocco maybe heading for a 2nd lockdown having lost control over recent weeks and I certainly expect the SOE to be extended after the 10th August now. As ever its hard to 2nd guess what they will do or what will happen with the pandemic

[Chris Scott]

Thanks for the update.

At a glance the graphs here look grim:
https://www.worldometers.info/corona...ountry/morocco
Looks like a 3rd spike in active cases, but worth remebering how tiny the actual numbers are.
Much less than 1% of UK deaths, for example.

So it's the strict restrictions/controls holding back the return of tourism rather than an actual risk of contagion.

[TheWarden]

Very valid point Chris, and something many people overlook. Certainly some of the expat orientated groups seem to think that Morocco is a war zone when it comes to the virus and over look just how low the numbers are.

IMHO the SoE will get extended again but hopefully at around the 10th they may make some statements about international tourism. Any longer and I think they will lose the October peak season completely and pretty much the whole 2020 business.

They country has got a bit lax over the last few weeks with mask and distancing and combined with the partial border reopening ahead of Eid would account the rise in cases. Optimistically they can regain control over that with these latest lockdowns and avoid another country wide one.

[TheWarden]

Quick update on the 10th August Deadline.

I've just had a message from a friend who had lunch to day with the Wiliya and Head of Police for Er Rachidia region. They confirmed the is nothing official regarding the 10th August deadline from Rabat.

[Chris Scott]

Asking Loc, the rental agency I work with, they tell me they hope frontiers to be opened in September.

[TheWarden]

Morocco has extended its state of emergency until the 10th September.

No further info at the moment
https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/202...8PaGkL5zaKR6oY

[priffe]

Morocco is an example of a country where the actions taken are many times more destructive than the virus by itself.

[Tim Cullis]

To be fair, Morocco is struggling to contain the cases within the limits of its relatively small healthcare infrastructure, so hasn't had much choice but to severely lockdown. A few days ago it was reported that the specialist field hospitals established to handle Covid-19 cases are starting to approach capacity with Benslimane at 99% occupancy, Casablanca at 80% and El Jadida at 72%.

The situation in Casablanca has been described as "explosive" and further sharp increases in cases may be on the cards. A number of factors are seen to be the cause including increase in family contacts in the lead up to Eid, and disregard of the rules regarding social distancing and mask wearing, the latter not helped by the rise in summer temperatures. Legislation is being introduced to ease the issuing of fines for those flouting restrictions.

Saad Eddine El Othmani, the Moroccan Head of Government, has expressed concern at the rapid spread of the virus. It took four months of the pandemic for Morocco to record 14,379 cases and 237 deaths to 6 July. In the following month to 6 August these figures more or less doubled to 29,644 cases and 449 deaths.

Looking at the statistics from another angle, the number of active cases (those detected, less those since recovered/died) almost doubled in a week from 2,073 on 21 July to 3,994 on 28 July, and then more than doubled again to 8,071 in the eight days to 5 August.

The European Union yesterday removed Morocco from its list of countries deemed “safe” for non-essential travel. Travellers from countries that don't have the COVID-19 pandemic under control are not allowed into EU, so from today (Saturday, August 8), non-essential travel between the EU and Morocco is no longer permitted. No mention has been made of the 'repatriation' efforts currently underway with airlines and ferries and it is not known whether these will be allowed to continue.

The normal progression curve for pandemics is a quick rise and slow downturn. At the moment Morocco is still rising, so I don't hold any hope for the resumption of foreign visitors before November at the earliest.