Covid-19: Press conference ‘Vaccination campaign on track’ By Christophe Zialor |19 February 2021

Dr Louange and Dr Gedeon during the press conference yesterday (Photo: Anel Robert)

“The vaccination campaign against the Covid-19 pandemic is on track, but we can do better with more cooperation from the public.”

This was said by the Public Health Commissioner, Doctor Jude Gedeon, at yesterday’s Covid-19 press update. He was accompanied by the chief executive of the health care agency, Dr Danny Louange.

This week the doctors gave an update on the increasing numbers of positive cases and the vaccination campaign.

“From February 15, 16 and 17 we registered 153 new cases which brought the total number of active cases to 594, most of which are from Mahé while 62 are on Praslin and 53 on La Digue,” said Dr Gedeon.

He noted that most of these cases were identified through track and trace as they tested possible contact cases that had been alerted.

As of today Seychelles has a total of 10 deaths due to the virus. Dr Gedeon commented on this by saying that these fatalities mirror those of other countries where the elderly are the most affected.

He added that the health department is recording a total of 70 to 60 cases per day.

The doctor also remarked that Perseverance is the district that has recorded the most cases.

With regard to the big number of cases detected at the IOT factory, Dr Gedeon said that through a successful campaign and cooperation with the factory, the numbers of infected cases at the factory have reduced significantly with the last few due to be discharged this month.

Concerning the vaccination campaign, Dr Gedeon noted that recent statistics shows that as of yesterday 41,849 people have received their first dose of vaccine while 19,512 have received their second dose.

“This number represents 28 percent of our target population. However, when we look at our total number of population which is approximately 100,000, the vaccination target that we have achieved so far represents only 20 percent of the population.”

He noted that as of now the ministry has not recorded any adverse effect of the vaccine and people should ignore the myths that are circulating on social media.

He also reiterated that the vaccine offers protection only after the second dose and even then it will take a few weeks to reach full effect, so people should still be cautious.

Concerning the quarantine facilities, Dr Louange noted that 24 patients have been admitted at the Family Hospital at Perseverance, four of whom are suspected cases awaiting PCR test, while the rest are experiencing different stages of the virus.

“Some are improving and are waiting to be transferred to the Seychelles Hospital, while four are in the ICU, two of whom require ventilation,” said Dr Louange.

He added that through observations they have noted that people suffering from chronic illnesses are more susceptible to the virus and deteriorate at a much faster rate.

He added that at the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay facilities 77 people have tested positive, Avani 121, Il-di-Swet 27 who will be discharged soon and the coastguard facilities have 7 patients.

“We also have patients on Praslin -16 at the Indian Ocean Lodge, 22 at Pension Fund Complex, and on La Digue there are 33 cases,” said the doctor.

Meanwhile, 69 new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recordedin Seychelles to 2280. They are from samples taken on February 15, 16 and 17. Six are foreigners and 63 Seychellois.

112 cases, of which 105 Seychellois and 7 foreigners, met discharge criteria yesterday and have been dischargedinto convalescence.