Coronavirus: Mauritius gradually opens economy after 14 days without a new case

11 Mai 2020

Port-Louis, Mauritius, May 11 (Infosplusgabon) - The spokesperson of the Mauritian National Communication Committee on COVID-19, Dr Zouberr Joomaye, on Sunday said the government will from 15 May open the economy gradually as no new case of the virus has been recorded in 14 straight days.

He said that as part of the Government’s strategy for the partial re-opening of the economy, five COVID-19 (coronavirus) testing centres will be set up at each of the five regional hospitals.

Dr Joomaye said people who need to move around from 15 May 2020 will have to apply online for a Work Access Permit (WAP) which they will eventually receive through emails. As at date, more than 10,000 such permits have been delivered.

Giving an update, Dr Joomaye stated that the number of positive cases stands at 332, with 10 deaths and two active cases. A total of 320 patients have recovered.

Furthermore, 326 people are presently under quarantine - 249 passengers and 77 medical staff. A total of 69,983 tests, comprising 23,311 PCR tests and 46,672 Rapid Antigen tests, have so far been carried out.

For his part, the Minister of Tourism, Mr Georges Lesjongard, indicated that the gradual re-opening of certain activities will take into consideration basic sanitary measures whereby the wearing of masks, respect of social distancing and other basic protective measures will be imperative in public places.

Gatherings, events and overcrowding should be avoided at all costs, he added.

Speaking about senior citizens, Mr Lesjongard said since they are the most vulnerable to COVID-19, they should go out only in exceptional cases, in particular to stock up on supplies, or if they hold Work Access Permits.

“They will be able to access public transport only in an alphabetical basis and outside peak hours,” he added.

Other rules that should be followed by all the population include: access to supermarkets, banks, bakeries and butchery will be in alphabetical order and the opening hours of supermarkets have been extended to 20:00 hours from Monday to Saturday.

Restaurants and fast food outlets will be allowed to operate through take away, delivery services and drive thru; all public buses and vehicles should be disinfected; a marking system will be applied in public buses and metro and they will operate with a limited number of passengers; only three passengers should be allowed to travel at the same time in taxis; and motorcyclists will not be allowed to carry any passenger except for close family members.

Meanwhile, the Attorney-General, Mr Maneesh Gobin, has announced that Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Jugnauth, will introduce two bills - COVID-19 Bill and Quarantine Bill - in Parliament on Wednesday to amend a number of laws to cater for the impact of the novel coronavirus.

He said the Quarantine Bill will repeal the Quarantine Act, which dates back to 1954.

“It will re-enact a reformed and modern appropriate legislative framework so as to provide more measures for the prevention and spread of communicable diseases,” Mr. Gobin added.

He indicated that the two Bills will include strict sanitary measures that will be enforced in public transport, schools, metro, offices, elevators, taxis and other public places. These sanitary measures will also be applicable at the airport with the arrival of repatriated Mauritians.

The Minister highlighted that any person who refuses to answer or knowingly gives a misleading answer when questioned by a quarantine officer will commit an offence and may be liable to a fine not exceeding Rs 500,000 (US$ 12,500) and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/IOP/GABON2020

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