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Morocco presses campaign to vaccinate inmates against Covid-19

By AFP
Morocco Prisoners wait their turn to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab as part of a vaccination campaign at the El Arjat prison near the Moroccan capital Rabat.  By FADEL SENNA AFP
MAY 26, 2021 LISTEN
Prisoners wait their turn to receive a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus jab as part of a vaccination campaign at the El Arjat prison near the Moroccan capital Rabat. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco has vaccinated nearly 4,000 inmates as part of a campaign launched in March to inoculate the incarcerated population against coronavirus, the kingdom's prison authority said Wednesday.

Morocco has vaccinated nearly 4,000 inmates since March, the prison authority said.  By FADEL SENNA AFP Morocco has vaccinated nearly 4,000 inmates since March, the prison authority said. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

The aim of the campaign, started several weeks after the national vaccination drive, is to work toward "a collective immunity for 80 percent of prisoners", said Taoufiq Abtal, the head of health for the prison authority DGAPR.

"This is a pioneering operation," he said during a press tour of the El Arjat prison, near the capital Rabat, stressing "good progress" had been made.

Morocco's 78 prisons hold nearly 85,000 inmates, 45 percent of whom are in pre-trial detention, with the North African kingdom's prison system suffering a "chronic problem" of overcrowding, according to the DGAPR.

Morocco's 78 prisons hold nearly 85,000 inmates, 45 percent of whom are in pre-trial detention.  By FADEL SENNA AFP Morocco's 78 prisons hold nearly 85,000 inmates, 45 percent of whom are in pre-trial detention. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

The court of auditors says inmates live in an average surface area of 1.8 square metres (19 square feet), and the non-governmental Moroccan Observatory of Prisons says some jails have an occupancy rate of more than 250 percent.

Since late January, around eight million Moroccans have received one dose of a Covid-19 vaccine and nearly five million have had two doses, according to the latest official figures.

The vaccination campaign in prisons is currently targeting inmates aged over 45, and those with chronic illnesses.

Prisoners at the El Arjat jail in northern Morocco were registered before receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine.  By FADEL SENNA AFP Prisoners at the El Arjat jail in northern Morocco were registered before receiving a dose of the AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine. By FADEL SENNA (AFP)

Morocco recently eased restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus, shortening a night-time curfew, but a long-standing state of emergency over the health crisis has been extended until June 10.

Morocco's borders will remain closed to 54 countries until at least June 10, according to the civil aviation authority.

The kingdom has recorded over 517,000 cases of Covid-19 since the pandemic began, including 9,131 deaths.

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