Morocco will lengthen its night curfew, starting two hours earlier at 9 pm from Tuesday, as it tightens restrictions to counter a surge of coronavirus infections.
The government says in a statement that the business and tourist hubs of Casablanca, Agadir and Marakech will be closed except to holders of the vaccine pass or those on necessary travel.
The move is expected to hurt the tourism business which pinned hopes on the summer season to attract national tourists after travel receipts dropped 70% in the first half this year.
Daily COVID-19 infections have oscillated between 4 000 and 9000 over the past week as the total number of cases people rose to 569 452 cases, including 9 885 deaths.
However, Morocco has outpaced other African peers in its vaccine push, administering 24 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Sinopharm vaccines.
Last week, the country started administering Johnson and Johnson doses after receiving a shipment of 300 000 shots.
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