British High Commission launches month of Covid recovery support |02 March 2021

High Commissioner Lynch handing over meals to Health Care Agency deputy chief executive Kathleen Cecile and team at the Yellow Roof building

• Donates lunches to healthcare workers, urges everyone to get vaccinated to protect the vulnerable

Staff from the British High Commission were on the road on Mahé yesterday to launch a month of activity to support the health and economic recovery in Seychelles.

British High Commissioner Patrick Lynch joined nine of his colleagues to deliver a hot lunch to almost 200 healthcare workers on the frontline of our Covid efforts.

The meals were prepared by Bradley Larue, who runs his Flavour House business from Perseverance and is head chef for all events at the high commission.

Speaking yesterday, High Commissioner Lynch said, “The British High Commission team has had detailed discussions with local experts to see how best Seychelles can draw on the support of the UK to drive the health and economic recovery in these islands. We have a busy month ahead, with a focus on increasing the IT capacity of the key agencies involved, providing niche medical equipment from UK suppliers and also working with local partners to help bring about a sustainable recovery of the vital tourism industry.”

The high commissioner continued, “This first day of our support programme is a more straightforward thank you to frontline healthcare workers. Our Covid heroes. Over three consecutive Mondays, our chef will be preparing fresh nutritious meals to give them a good start to the busy week ahead.”

High Commissioner Lynch noted that there was real hope that the health and economic crisis would come to an end soon, but guarded against complacency.

“This has been an immensely challenging time for Seychelles but the vaccination rollout gives us real hope. The numbers being vaccinated are world-leading and the Seychelles government should be praised for its remarkable success in protecting its people. For our part, the UK is extremely proud that the huge investment we made in the development of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine, is, with the kind support of the Indian government, providing a literal and metaphorical shot in the arm for Seychelles.

“But we should not be complacent. Recent case numbers demonstrate that there is a minority within our communities who are willing to put their own social activities above the considerable health risk faced by the elderly and vulnerable. And there is also, unfortunately, still a number of people who refuse the vaccine, either because they feel that the personal risk to them from Covid is small or because they have been manipulated and tricked by the spread of misinformation about vaccines.

“As Her Majesty the Queen made clear last week, this is a time for all of us to think about others, rather than ourselves, and take a simple step to protect our friends, neighbours and families.”

Contributed by the British High Commission