Morocco bans New Year’s parties over COVID-19 scare

Morocco on Monday announced a ban on New Year’s Eve celebrations as part of stepped-up measures against rising coronavirus cases.

The government mandated a ban on all forms of celebration on the evening of New Year’s eve, including parties in hotels and tourist sites.

It ordered restaurants and cafes to close at 11.30 pm and said a curfew would be in place from midnight until 6:00 AM on January 1.

Morocco on December 15 detected its first case of the Omicron variant of the novel coronavirus.

After a partial reopening of borders, it is to close them again from Thursday to rein in the spread of the highly infectious variant.

Authorities will, however, organise special repatriation flights for expatriates stranded in the country.