Rabat, March 27, 2020 – Morocco’s economy ministry said Friday it had allocated two billion dirhams ($201 million) to bolster medical equipment needed to fight the novel coronavirus, including the purchase of 100,000 testing kits. The money would also be used to buy medicine, provide 1,000 new intensive care beds and 550 ventilators, the ministry said in a statement.
The outlays would be financed by a special fund dedicated to combatting the deadly virus endowed with a total of 25 billion dirhams (over $2.5 billion), comprised of state and private contributions. Morocco imposed a public health state of emergency last Friday in a bid to forestall the spread of the virus, which has so far infected 333 people, of which 21 have died, according to official figures. However, barely 1,000 tests have been conducted in the nation of some 35 million people.
