“Covid is becoming like another infectious disease that we have to live with” - PHC Dr Gédéon |30 November 2022
Dr Gédéon (Photo: Joena Meme)
Recently the Ministry of Health announced the revision of the entry and stay conditions for incoming travellers and two major changes that will become effective as from tomorrow, December 1, are that routine requirement for Covid-19 vaccination and routine requirement for negative Covid-19 test have both been lifted.
Dr Jude Gédéon, the Public Health Commissioner, met with the press yesterday to give more details on this decision.
“Before there was the travel authorisation, but now it is an application. People still have to fill in the other details for other agencies such as immigration, biosecurity etc. The two conditions regarding health have been removed. This removal will facilitate travellers. We believe that it will not add any additional risks to the country as we have seen cases are going down and admissions from the Omicron strain are not significant for several weeks. Covid is becoming like another infectious disease that we have to live with and manage it as and when it happens. The removal of these two measures keep us up to date with what is happening around the world,” explained Dr Gédéon.
However, if the situation changes for one reason or the other, there may be a need to reintroduce the measures.
The Family Hospital at Perseverance is back to operate as a family hospital but a section of the hospital is reserved as isolation centre in case they need to use it for other diseases.
Dr Gédéon put the emphasis on those who already have prior medical conditions and it is important to get the vaccines. “The vaccination campaign is ongoing and people are coming forward but not in the numbers we wanted. 45% of those who took the 1st and 2nd dose (over 80%) have come forward for their third dose and only 7% came for the fourth dose. The uptake is not bad and we are much better than many countries. We do not know if next year we will have the Covid vaccine available as COVAX facility is ending end of this year and we have not been able to get information if there will be another phase next year. We may be out of vaccine early next year and we take this opportunity to invite people to come forward and get their vaccines.”
With the removal of the health conditions, Dr Gédéon urged everyone to take their own responsibility. “The best person to take care of yourself is you. If you have symptoms do not mingle with others and wear a mask as it protects others. If you are in a closed environment and you find someone with symptoms, advise the person to leave or wear a mask. Hand sanitisation is crucial and hand washing is very important. These good practices will help prevent contamination,” concluded Dr Gédéon.
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