(Adds new travel ban)
Rabat, Jan 18 (Reuters) - Morocco’s health ministry
confirmed on Monday its first imported case of the more
contagious variant of the novel coronavirus first discovered in
the UK.
The variant was detected in the northern port of Tangier in
a Moroccan national returning from Ireland via Marseille, the
ministry said in a statement.
On Monday, the foreign ministry said travellers from
Australia, Brazil, Ireland and New Zealand will not be allowed
into the country. Morocco has suspended flights coming from the
UK since late December in an effort to protect against further
spread of the virus.
Morocco has announced it plans to launch a free vaccination
campaign targeting 25 million people, or 80% of its population.
The country ordered 66 million vaccine doses from
AstraZeneca Plc and China’s Sinopharm. It has not yet
received any.
On Dec. 23, Morocco imposed a nationwide four-week curfew
from 9:00 pm to 6:00 am to contain virus.
On Monday, the country said it has recorded a total of
460,144 coronavirus infections including 7,977 deaths and 16,481
active cases.
Health experts have raised concerns over new highly
transmissible mutations of the virus first reported in the UK
and South Africa and now cropping up in several other countries.
A third new variant has since been reported in Brazil.
(Reporting by Ahmed Eljechtimi
Editing by Bill Berkrot)
Astrazeneca (AZN)
