Morocco’s Ministry of Health has announced 31 additional cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 1,021 as of 9 p.m. on April 5.
The ministry also reported one death and five recoveries, bringing the death toll to 70 and the number of recovered COVID-19 patients to 76.
The outbreak continues to grow in the Casablanca-Settat region, where 295 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed.
Marrakech-Safi is now the second most-infected region with 186 cases, followed by Rabat-Sale-Kenitra (181), Fez-Meknes (133), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (78), Oriental (55), Draa-Tafilalet (41), Beni Mellal-Khenifra (28), and Souss-Massa (19).
Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra has only four cases, and Guelmim Oued Noun has one. Dakhla-Oued Ed Dahab has yet to confirm any cases of the virus.
Since the start of the outbreak on March 2, Moroccan health authorities have carried out 3,827 tests on suspected COVID-19 cases that came back negative.
As asymptomatic cases grow in frequency, the Ministry of Health announced its intention to boost COVID-19 screening tests to 10,000 tests per day to improve case detection.
Morocco entered a state of emergency on March 20 to reduce mobility and contain the spread of the virus. Infections have since increased by more than 1,000%.
Director of Epidemiology at the Ministry of Health Mohamed Lyoubi called the increase in cases “expected and natural,” saying infections are rapidly spreading between family members.
The health ministry has consistently maintained that Morocco will soon “flatten the curve” of infections thanks to its strict preventive measures against the proliferation of the virus.