Latest developments with regard to COVID-19 |18 March 2020
Dr Gedeon (Photo: Jude Morel)
‘More cases likely to be detected’
By Elsie Pointe
Although it is difficult to predict the number of future COVID-19 cases that Seychelles will be faced with, Public Health Commissioner Jude Gedeon noted that the department of health anticipates to detect more cases as it undertakes more tests.
So far, the department of health has only recorded imported cases of COVID-19, meaning persons who have recently travelled.
Dr Gedeon highlighted these facts yesterday while speaking to the media to provide an update on the current developments surrounding COVID-19.
The four persons who have tested positive for COVID-19 are in the isolation treatment centre at Anse Royale while seven persons, including two children, are in quarantine at Perseverance.
All of the persons in quarantine are Seychellois residents who recently arrived from Italy and Spain.
Dr Gedeon clarified that none of the four patients who are admitted at the isolation treatment centre have died as some rumours have been suggesting and that they are all stable.
“They are all well except for the Dutch man who’s got a few symptoms that are unrelated to COVID-19. Meanwhile the two Seychellois have been well for three days now and soon we will have to re-test them before we take a decision to discharge them,” Dr Gedeon stated.
“We anticipate that we will be having more Seychellois coming back from Europe following the new measures to stop travellers from Europe from entering Seychelles so we might get more imported cases,” he further warned.
“If it so happens that our quarantine facilities at Perseverance is overwhelmed we will have to go to the next level and do controlled home quarantines. The people who will come in will have to be triaged and processed according to level of risks.”
He also noted that the four positive COVID-19 cases have been imported cases, meaning the COVID-19 patients did not contract the virus in Seychelles.
However Dr Gedeon said that further measures will be undertaken, particularly in regards to social distancing, when Seychelles records it first case of local transmission.
A large number of activities, events and businesses which see a large turnout such as bars, cinemas, schools, and religious services have been cancelled or closed down.
Dr Gedeon however expressed his disappointment in regards to casinos that are still business as usual and ignoring the public health instruction to halt their operations.