During the period from May 15 to 22nd, 500 nationals stranded in the occupied cities of Sebta and Mellilia were repatriated, Mr. Bourita said during the weekly oral questions session at the House of Councillors.

"The operation continued in Algeria with the repatriation on May 30 of 306 people from the capital Algiers and 301 others from the cities of Oran and Sidi Bel Abbès, on June 4," he added.  

The Minister said that a number of people who were registered to be repatriated did not show up or ultimately decided not to return for work or family reasons, among others.  

The management of this operation is not at all easy given that the Kingdom is intent  to ensure all the health guarantees and to mobilize the human and financial resources necessary for this purpose.  

In addition to logistical constraints in countries where Moroccans are stranded, repatriation efforts made use only of two-thirds of the seats of chartered planes in order to respect social distancing.  

In this regard, Mr. Bourita emphasized the compliance with collective quarantine measures for 9 days in classified hotels, the mobilization of dozens of medical staff and members of the security services, as well as the carrying out of two PCR tests for each person repatriated on arrival and at the end of the isolation period.  

The Minister announced that Morocco will begin in 48 hours the repatriation of Moroccans stranded in Spain, by giving priority to Moroccan nationals residing in the south of Spain, particularly Algeciras, before including Catalonia and the capital Madrid.

The repatriation operation, which will include people with short-term visas, will then be extended, according to him, to Turkey, France, the Gulf countries, and African countries in strict compliance with health measures.