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said on Thursday that it would end a ban on flights to the kingdom, in place since November 29 in an effort to limit the spread of the variant of .

A government statement published by the country's official MAP news agency said that the ban would end on February 7.

The decision followed "the evolution of the epidemiological situation in the kingdom", the statement said, adding that entry requirements for visitors would be announced at a later date.

Rabat imposed restrictions to run initially from late November until December 31, although a mechanism had been in place for Moroccan citizens stranded abroad to travel home.

But in December Rabat stopped that mechanism, meaning the de facto closure of the country's borders.

The only passenger movements permitted under the current rules have been one-off repatriation flights for foreign citizens in the kingdom, authorised on a case-by-case basis by .

The restrictions have dealt a punishing blow to the North African country's vital tourism sector, already on its knees after two lost seasons because of the pandemic.