The crisis rocking the aviation business has continued to spiral as Morocco said on Wednesday that it had suspended all flights to and from Mali, Ghana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea, and Libya, to curb the spread of the new coronavirus (COVID-19) variants.
The Moroccan National Airport Office (ONDA) disclosed this in a statement posted on its website. It added that the suspension was temporary and would run until April 10. According to the office, the ban also concerns the entry of passengers of these countries arriving through other countries. Morocco has so far suspended air connections with 35 countries to curb the spread of the coronavirus and the more contagious COVID-19 variants.
The North African country last week extended the state of health emergency to April 10, while a nationwide vaccination campaign is going on so as to reach herd immunity. As of Tuesday, the tally of COVID-19 infections in Morocco reached 492,403, with 8,775 deaths and 480,100 recoveries.
Meanwhile, 4,265,196 people have received so far, the first vaccine shot against COVID-19 in the country, and 2,593,204 people have received the second dose. Morocco launched a nationwide vaccination campaign on Jan. 28 after the arrival of the first shipment of China’s Sinopharm vaccines.