CoronaVirus came to Morocco. We felt pretty safe for a while. Life went on normally, with the news about this virus in China, spreading to South Korea and Japan, then Italy.
On February 2nd, Barb and I were returning by taxi from Meknes, when we saw speeding towards us a motorcade. Was it the king? No. The police were escorting two large white buses, each with two guys in hazmat suits in the front! Then I remember reading in the newspaper that the King had ordered the repatriation of the several hundred Moroccan students who had been studying in Wuhan! The article noted that they would fly in to Rabat airport and then be quarantined at the Military Hospital in Rabat and the Sidi Sa'id Hospital in Meknes! We saw them!
Also, as we drove by the airport I saw a huge white 747 plane there -- it's a small airport.
So that was our first direct exposure, as it were, to the CoronaVirus.
Two weeks later, as I retold this story in one of my teacher workshops, a participant informed me that all the people in quarantine were released, none of them with the virus. So it seemed Morocco might not be infected.
Then a tourist from Italy is diagnosed; then one from France.
Then the government starts announcing precautionary public health instructions.
Then they stopped all flights from Italy, then from France.
Then they stopped all connections with Spain (a much bigger impact).
Late Thursday night March 12th, Georgetown University sent me a note that they were terminating all contracts and urging us to request a flight home as soon as possible. I had just completed the second of three weeks of workshops in Agadir, and flew back to Rabat on Friday afternoon, with no obvious change in society or traffic or airports. After some discussion with colleagues and with Barb (who was in Chicago, ticketed to return on the 19th!), I requested that the university arrange a flight on Tuesday the 17th, giving me time to pack, notify my students, take things to the office at the Ministry of Education and pick up any small things there on Monday.
Saturday noon, I get a call warning me to stock up on groceries and cash, as some newly-anticipated government announcements might prompt panic. So I get more cash and buy a few groceries so I have enough stock for several days alone. But still there is no obvious sign of disruption or panic anywhere. Maybe I am out of touch? I write my landlord notifying him of my sudden departure -- assuming that my 2-month security deposit and substantial furniture and housewares I am leaving there will make up for the loss of a couple months of rent...and my lease has a 2-month-termination clause, anyway.
Sunday morning I get a phone call from colleague Margot, who has just been offered a ticket to JFK via Cairo that night -- she is offering to transfer it to me so that I can get back sooner. I accept the offer. Suddenly switch gears.
Call landlord, tell him I'm leaving really soon.
Call Barb. She is happy, but worried because of reports that All Returning Americans Will Be Quarantined! At least that was what she gleaned from the scary warnings online. I try reassurance, but cannot be too sanguine because the situation changes hourly.
Colleague at the embassy offers to drive me to the airport -- I accept because he can also pick up my office stuff, and can take my apartment key. However, my landlord shows up at 6:30pm, along with Soufiane, so landlord Hamza can see the apartment, get the key, and thank me for paying promptly and he will certainly enjoy the bottles left behind. We load up my 4 heavy suitcases (all filled to 23kg), and drive into the night. Casablanca airport seems fairly normal, including the usual languid manner of the EgyptAir employees who delay opening their desk; but I check in, and divert to the remote payment desk to pay for checking my two extra suitcases (3800dhs!). Several people are crowded around asking about tickets -- still, there's no sense of panic. Through the various passport/security checks, normal queues, normal behavior, just a few people with facemasks and/or gloves. However, I did notice the flight cancellations:
My flight was going to be The Last Flight Out Of Morocco !
Just like the movie Casablanca! All I needed was Ilsa: "We'll always have Paris" (I did say that to Barb, in honor of our honeymoon in Paris)
At the gate, there were a dozen standby passengers waiting. The flight was full, but again no sense of panic. Most people were wearing facemasks and/or gloves. I was wary when I ended up behind a gaggle of Italian-speaking soccer players, particularly when some of them were not wearing masks. Oh well -- I did not touch them, and I stayed away. The flight was full but uneventful -- I managed to sleep a few hours.
Cairo airport appeared normal, except for the photocopied health statement we had to fill out at the temperature checking station after exiting the plane. That was quick and perfunctory, yet reassuring.
Otherwise the airport appeared normal, though most workers and travelers were wearing facemasks. The flight to the US had an incredibly lengthy special security queue, but there were no health checks, only the usual theatrical intensive search for weaponry. The flight was almost full, though I had an empty seat next to mine. All normal. Five movies later we landed at JFK. Normal long passport queues, and only the Xeroxed health-questionnaire, quite perfunctory. No temperature check. He did ask me what countries I had been in prior to this trip. Morocco, no problem, go on.
That's it. Otherwise all seemed normal. Lyft driver was friendly and talkative. Home by 5pm. (my five other colleagues departed Casablanca the following day, arriving at JFK soon after I did because they got a direct flight)
On February 2nd, Barb and I were returning by taxi from Meknes, when we saw speeding towards us a motorcade. Was it the king? No. The police were escorting two large white buses, each with two guys in hazmat suits in the front! Then I remember reading in the newspaper that the King had ordered the repatriation of the several hundred Moroccan students who had been studying in Wuhan! The article noted that they would fly in to Rabat airport and then be quarantined at the Military Hospital in Rabat and the Sidi Sa'id Hospital in Meknes! We saw them!
Also, as we drove by the airport I saw a huge white 747 plane there -- it's a small airport.
So that was our first direct exposure, as it were, to the CoronaVirus.
Two weeks later, as I retold this story in one of my teacher workshops, a participant informed me that all the people in quarantine were released, none of them with the virus. So it seemed Morocco might not be infected.
Then a tourist from Italy is diagnosed; then one from France.
Then the government starts announcing precautionary public health instructions.
Then they stopped all flights from Italy, then from France.
Then they stopped all connections with Spain (a much bigger impact).
Late Thursday night March 12th, Georgetown University sent me a note that they were terminating all contracts and urging us to request a flight home as soon as possible. I had just completed the second of three weeks of workshops in Agadir, and flew back to Rabat on Friday afternoon, with no obvious change in society or traffic or airports. After some discussion with colleagues and with Barb (who was in Chicago, ticketed to return on the 19th!), I requested that the university arrange a flight on Tuesday the 17th, giving me time to pack, notify my students, take things to the office at the Ministry of Education and pick up any small things there on Monday.
Saturday noon, I get a call warning me to stock up on groceries and cash, as some newly-anticipated government announcements might prompt panic. So I get more cash and buy a few groceries so I have enough stock for several days alone. But still there is no obvious sign of disruption or panic anywhere. Maybe I am out of touch? I write my landlord notifying him of my sudden departure -- assuming that my 2-month security deposit and substantial furniture and housewares I am leaving there will make up for the loss of a couple months of rent...and my lease has a 2-month-termination clause, anyway.
Sunday morning I get a phone call from colleague Margot, who has just been offered a ticket to JFK via Cairo that night -- she is offering to transfer it to me so that I can get back sooner. I accept the offer. Suddenly switch gears.
Call landlord, tell him I'm leaving really soon.
Call Barb. She is happy, but worried because of reports that All Returning Americans Will Be Quarantined! At least that was what she gleaned from the scary warnings online. I try reassurance, but cannot be too sanguine because the situation changes hourly.
Colleague at the embassy offers to drive me to the airport -- I accept because he can also pick up my office stuff, and can take my apartment key. However, my landlord shows up at 6:30pm, along with Soufiane, so landlord Hamza can see the apartment, get the key, and thank me for paying promptly and he will certainly enjoy the bottles left behind. We load up my 4 heavy suitcases (all filled to 23kg), and drive into the night. Casablanca airport seems fairly normal, including the usual languid manner of the EgyptAir employees who delay opening their desk; but I check in, and divert to the remote payment desk to pay for checking my two extra suitcases (3800dhs!). Several people are crowded around asking about tickets -- still, there's no sense of panic. Through the various passport/security checks, normal queues, normal behavior, just a few people with facemasks and/or gloves. However, I did notice the flight cancellations:
Just like the movie Casablanca! All I needed was Ilsa: "We'll always have Paris" (I did say that to Barb, in honor of our honeymoon in Paris)
At the gate, there were a dozen standby passengers waiting. The flight was full, but again no sense of panic. Most people were wearing facemasks and/or gloves. I was wary when I ended up behind a gaggle of Italian-speaking soccer players, particularly when some of them were not wearing masks. Oh well -- I did not touch them, and I stayed away. The flight was full but uneventful -- I managed to sleep a few hours.
Cairo airport appeared normal, except for the photocopied health statement we had to fill out at the temperature checking station after exiting the plane. That was quick and perfunctory, yet reassuring.
Otherwise the airport appeared normal, though most workers and travelers were wearing facemasks. The flight to the US had an incredibly lengthy special security queue, but there were no health checks, only the usual theatrical intensive search for weaponry. The flight was almost full, though I had an empty seat next to mine. All normal. Five movies later we landed at JFK. Normal long passport queues, and only the Xeroxed health-questionnaire, quite perfunctory. No temperature check. He did ask me what countries I had been in prior to this trip. Morocco, no problem, go on.
That's it. Otherwise all seemed normal. Lyft driver was friendly and talkative. Home by 5pm. (my five other colleagues departed Casablanca the following day, arriving at JFK soon after I did because they got a direct flight)
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