Covid-19 press update. |22 January 2021

Dr Louange and Dr Gedeon during the press conference yesterday (Photo: Thomas Meriton)

‘All government agencies have recorded at least one positive Covid-19 case’ – Dr Gedeon

All government agencies have recorded at least one positive Covid-19 case, the Public Health Commissioner, Dr Jude Gedeon, said during yesterday’s press update.

He was joined on the panel by the chief executive of the Health Care Agency (HCA), Dr Danny Louange.

Dr Gedeon further added that the huge surge of cases recorded on Wednesday, which was at a staggering 81, was due to a group of 25 sailors on a Spanish fishing vessel that tested positive.

The commissioner also noted that since the pandemic started, 612 people have recovered leaving only 229 active cases with three deaths.

“Another area where we are seeing large clusters are in a specific tourist establishment on Mahé as well as the Indian Ocean Tuna Factory (IOT). As we speak now there is a meeting underway with the factory’s health officer and the public health emergency operation centre to decide the steps to be taken in terms of containment,” Dr Gedeon said.

In terms of positive cases, the doctor remarked that if we factor out the 25 infected sailors, it shows that the trend in new cases is continuously going down since restrictions were put in place.

“When we look at it by week, we are still registering a downward trend that only time will tell if we continue on the same path,” he said.

Dr Gedeon also went over the positive ratio in terms of gender where he noted that since the second wave more women have tested positive for the virus making a total of 54.6 percent while male positive cases lie at 45.4 percent.

“It is also important to note that the age group that has been most affected are the 18-60 year olds,” he said.

When it comes to districts, Dr Gedeon told the press that Baie Ste Anne Praslin has registered quite a bit of cases either from a tourist resort or the residences of the district. The district with the most cases on Mahé is Port Glaud with some cases coming from residences but also from a tourist establishment.

“All districts have registered a case and it is also important to note that almost all government offices have registered at least one positive case, so we are no longer at the stage where we look at where the infection is located and where it is not, we must assume that the virus is everywhere,” said Dr Gedeon.

Concerning the vaccination campaign that is currently underway, Seychelles has been ranked 4th in the world in terms of doses administered per 100 people.

Dr Gedeon remarked that 13,000 people, which represents 13 percent of the population, have already been vaccinated.

He also added that the shipment of the Oxford-astrazeneca vaccine will soon arrive in the country and vaccination for the 65 year olds and above and the vulnerable will begin.

Dr Gedeon noted that he is confident the country will meet its vaccination goal of 60 percent as 2000 people are being vaccinated per day.

“It is very important that the public realise that the first dose of the vaccine does not offer any protection, they will need the second dose in order to get maximum protection but still after that second dose you will still be at risk as the chances of infection is still there; the vaccine only protects you from developing severe symptoms,” said the doctor.

He also warned the public about gatherings as there were huge crowds at various locations this past weekend

Dr Gedeon also touched on the three deaths, saying that the reason there are delays sometimes in confirming a fatality is because they are conducting tests to determine the cause of death.

On his part, Dr Louange noted that at the isolation centre at the Family Hospital in Perseverance there are currently 20 patients – 16 are experiencing mild to moderate symptoms while 2 are critical and 2 severe.

He added that there have been improvements in the critical cases as one patient was recently removed from the ventilator.

Dr Louange also confirmed that there are 13 patients at the Coast Guard facility also at Perseverance and 71 patients at Avani resort. He also added that there are 51 patients at Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay and 2 patients on Praslin, all of whom are in isolation.

The CEO also remarked that currently the ministry has control over the vaccine as there are still multiple rooms available at the isolation centre at Perseverance as well as an established plan in case there is a surge in cases.

As we approach January 28, the day public restrictions are supposed to be lifted, many are wondering if it will actually happen as many more positive cases are being recorded.

Dr Gedeon noted that a team will be meeting in the next couple of days to discuss whether restrictions will be lifted, relaxed or tightened.

As for the opening of borders and allowing visitors from every country to enter Seychelles, both doctors confirmed that they were involved in the discussions.

Dr Gedeon also noted that if by mid-March we still haven’t vaccinated enough people to have herd immunity then the opening of the border will be pushed back.

Christophe Zialor