Rabat, Morocco and COVID

Of course it will come up as COVID is still around but it is different everywhere. Arriving into the country, none of us had to be COVID tested though Chris and I were asked to show our proof of vaccination at the airport before we went through customs. The girls are not vaccinated so they were to quarantine after we arrived. 

Like other countries, there have been recent spikes in infected persons and deaths due to COVID.
There is a night curfew in place that begins at 9pm and large tourist cities are closed to most people/tourists. Access to other countries from Morocco such as France, Spain, and Portugal have been limited or closed as well. The infection and death rate here is still pretty high and it was just last week that the ministry rolled out the vaccine for 12-18 year olds. We think this might be part of the reason that schools were told to close. The country is the lead in Africa for rolling out the vaccinations for adults so that is reassuring. 

We have seen people wearing face masks in most places - inside public areas like the grocery store and retail shops. People outside seem to wear masks too - gas station and parking attendants, security guards, and police officers directing traffic. Inside stores (and even walking around) you see the same thing you'd see in San Diego with people's noses sticking out of their masks or masks around their chins. I have not seen many children outside the school and walking into the pool club that have masks on. There are security guards who temperature check everyone who walks into large shops and hand sanitizer stations at locations of all sizes. I did see one guard tell someone to put a mask on once but I think the guy had just forgot. Almost everyone is wearing a mask when they should and they have it on properly. There are workers sanitizing floors and surfaces in most businesses. They also have shoe sanitizer things you step into when entering most places as well. 

The US and other countries are also helping Morocco with their COVID response efforts. And the country just got a large shipment of J&J vaccines (which is what I got!). Overall we feel safe but we also have the privilege of knowing if we get sick there are many measures in place to make sure that we are well taken care of.