COVID-19 update - Five patients recover but still in quarantine |17 April 2020
Dr Louange and Dr Gedeon during the press meet yesterday (Photo: Louis Toussaint)
• Seychelles still has six active cases
Out of the 11 positive COVID-19 cases recorded in Seychelles, five of them have recovered.
This was announced yesterday by the Public Health Commissioner, Dr Jude Gedeon, in the regular press meet held twice a week at the Seychelles Hospital.
He was accompanied by the chief executive of the Health Care Agency, Dr Danny Louange.
Current status
Globally, the COVID-19 outbreak seems to be slowing down in some parts of world, in other parts it is not getting better but in some areas there is a lot of improvement.
“But globally, we find some kind of plateauing. It seems to be slowing down but that varies from country to country and region to region. In Seychelles we have not registered any new case since the last – 11th case – on April 5. We still have people in quarantine and the last one will come out of quarantine on Sunday this week. We have now discharged five people who were in isolation and we still have six people in isolation who have not recovered from the virus to be discharged. There are certain additional public health measures that were announced on Tuesday when the President made his address and there are two measures that will come into effect as from Friday 7pm (today) called the ‘Prohibition outdoor movement’. People are expected to be in their house as from 7pm till 6am the following day. This will continue till April 30 at 6am,” Dr Gedeon stressed.
Dr Gedeon noted that there will be permission for critical services and there is a list that will be published of those people that will be allowed on the road during these hours. And if you do not form part of these critical services you will not be allowed in circulation and the police and other forces will be taking actions against anybody who breaches these regulations. Additionally, the second new measure concerns shops. Only shops that sell foods, baby products and pharmaceutical products, have permission to open from 6.30am till 6pm instead of 6.30pm. This will allow people to get home before 7pm.
“I would like to inform the public that these measures may appear more stringent and they are additional to the previous measures that still hold. We are fighting an enemy here and when we fight an enemy we do not relax when your enemy weakens. You up your efforts and you attack and destroy the enemy to gain victory. You don’t gain victory by relaxing before the enemy is defeated. That is the strategy we are employing and we are asking the people to stay on the same page as us. So far many people are cooperating and we are achieving our objectives but there are still a lot of areas that we need to improve.”
Social distancing and more hygienic habits
One big area we need to improve on, noted Dr Gedeon, is social distancing.
“It is unfortunate that it is not happening in the right way in many places, especially when queues form such as in banks. We have to make it a practice to keep a distance of two metres. We also ask the public to disinfect their phones and use wipes to wipe their phones before using them. It is an individual responsibility to keep your distance. If you are at home keep the windows open for air circulation. Restrain from giving rides to people on the streets as you are putting yourself at risk.”
Quarantine/isolation
Dr Louange gave us an update on the quarantine/isolation centres.
“In our isolation centre we have six patients who are receiving the proper treatment and follow-ups. All the patients do not have any symptoms except the last patient who still have some cough. The Dutch patient started his rehabilitation and we are closely monitoring all the patients. One of the criteria being used on these patients is to conduct tests in order to see if they are ready to be discharged.”
There are still some 61 people in quarantine at the Beau Vallon Berjaya Hotel and 5 at the Coast Guard. All of them are healthy and they are being monitored.
Three important donations
Dr Louange also talked about the three donations of medical supplies received recently – from Jack Ma Foundation, the World Health Organisation and the Indian Government.
“Jack Ma Foundation gave us some laboratory equipment and some important equipment to collect and transport specimens. This is very important for us as our stock was diminishing. We also received two ventilators and gun thermometers. The donation from the Indian government consists mainly of medicines such as regular medicines used for diabetes, blood pressure and antibiotic. The other batch of this donation comprises medecines used to contain COVID-19 such as hydroxychloroquine tablets. We are following the guidance from the WHO and the CDC.
Follow up of patients locally and internationally
Dr Louange highlighted the fact that there is some sort of confusion in the community. The department of health is still offering service to all Seychellois be it locally or internationally.
“We currently have 25 patients in India and we are in touch with them every single day. Twenty-three of them are in MIOT, Chennai and we have made arrangements for them to be cared for. Even the persons accompanying them are being catered for with meals free of charge.”
Dr Louange also noted that the Seychellois patients who have gone overseas for treatments on their own are also being followed by Foreign Affairs following a decision from the cabinet of ministers.
Members of the public are being urged to take heed of the advice and help the police to maintain order in the country while trying to fight a common enemy. Let us play our part in this fight to control the spread now and also in the future if it comes back.
Vidya Gappy