Up to 560 infections have been recorded in two strawberry and other fruit treatment plants

Dos empresas españolas albergan el mayor foco de coronavirus de Marruecos

photo_camera REUTERS/YOUSSEF BOUDLAL - Police officers patrol Morocco because of the coronavirus pandemic

The largest concentration of coronavirus detected in Morocco has been discovered at the headquarters of two Spanish strawberry and other fruit processing companies located in an agricultural region between Larache and Rabat. 

The Ministry of Interior of the Kingdom of Alaoui said that, according to its data, only in the plant of the Seville company Frigodar have appeared 457 positive cases, while in the plant of the Navarre company Natberry have been counted up to 103.

As a result, the ministerial authority has closed down access to various towns in this fruit-growing region where Spanish companies are based; although those requiring passage for cases of absolute necessity will be able to get in.

This situation occurs just when the passage of a large part of the country to stages of deconfinement was announced after some rigid measures of confinement and social distancing dictated to avoid the spread of COVID-19 disease, which has so far left 213 dead and more than 9,600 diagnosed cases in Moroccan territory. The recently decreed relaxation measures have had as notable exceptions the northern Atlantic regions: Tangier, Larache and Kenitra, in addition to Marrakech. In fact, restrictive measures have been further tightened in the provinces of Larache, Kenitra and Uezan. 

A source from Frigodar told the Efe agency that its fruit treatment plant (currently strawberries and apricots) in Douar Oulad Aguil, which employs 1,313 people, almost all women, has been closed since last Wednesday, when its officials detected the extension of COVID-19 in the region. 

After the closure, local authorities ordered massive coronavirus testing at this plant and at five other companies that employ fruit workers, which uncovered more cases of infection. 

The source said that, before the closure, Frigodar imposed protective measures such as the obligation to wear a mask, measure temperature, and put screens on the workers, thus avoiding the accusations of some unions. However, one of the problematic situations may have been the means of transportation of the day laborers, who in these regions usually travel to the factories piled up in open-air trailers without keeping the minimum safety distance. Moroccan media have shown dozens of vehicles transporting sick workers from the town of Lalla Mimouna (one of the main focuses) to the alleged hospital of Ben Slimane, where patients of COVID-19 are centralized.

Given this upsurge of the coronavirus in the nation, the Moroccan Ministry of Health has invited "all citizens to respect the rules of hygiene and health security, as well as preventive measures decreed by the authorities showing responsibility and patriotism," according to the official Moroccan news agency MAP.

More in Society