Morocco lays the groundwork for 'possible' new wave of Covid-19 variant, Eris

Moroccan authorities say a new Covid-19 wave in the country, with severe cases and fatalities, remains possible amid concerns over the worldwide spread of Covid-19's new dominant variant, 'Eris', reported Rabat's state news agency MAP.

"(There is) the possibility of recording some serious cases or even deaths, especially among elderly people, those with immune fragility, or those with chronic diseases," reads the Moroccan Ministry of Health press release published on Friday, 4 August.

This week, Eris (EG.5) became the dominant variant in the United States, and the World Health Organisation classified EG.5 as a "variant of interest," meaning it has genetic changes that give it an advantage, and its prevalence is growing. 

So far, Morocco has not recorded any cases of the new variant. However, the Moroccan Ministry of Health has already started consultations with the Scientific Committee, a board of several renowned Moroccan doctors established in 2020 to advise the ministry on Covid policy.

"This new variant has become dominant because it can affect even people who are vaccinated, but the vaccination protects us from high-risk symptoms," Dr Tayeb Hamdi, the president of the Moroccan National Syndicate of General Medicine, told The New Arab, as he insisted on the role of vaccination in avoiding the country a new health setback.

The Ministry of Health has also confirmed that it continues to track the epidemiological situation in the country, calling for the need to complete vaccination doses to enhance immunity against Covid-19.

Over 23 million Moroccans have been fully vaccinated against Covid-19 during a strict lockdown that banned unvaccinated people from most public areas and from travelling nationally and internationally.

Meanwhile, only around 7 million people have received the third dose of the vaccine in Morocco.

As 14 million of the population remain unvaccinated, fears of an epidemiological setback and a new lockdown mount in the Moroccan streets.

"A new lockdown will kill us. We barely managed to get back on our feets this year as tourism is back. Closing everything should never be an option again," a stall food owner in Essaouira (Western Morocco) told TNA.

In 2020, the North African Kingdom economy lost 432,000 jobs. A collapse in external demand and a strict lockdown lasting more than three months have profoundly altered economic activity in Morocco, causing its first recession since 1995.

Nevertheless, the president of the Moroccan National Syndicate of General Medicine confirms that life will continue normally in the North African state for the foreseeing future as long as preauction measures are followed.

"People who show respiratory symptoms should wear a mask, head to health institutions for diagnosis and avoid all social gatherings," Dr Hamdi insisted.