Covid-19 update |05 May 2021
Minister Vidot and Dr Gedeon during the press conference (Photo: Thomas Meriton)
Revised measures with immediate effect for two weeks
- Closure of schools until May 24, 2021, curfew remains at 11pm
Following the recent surge in Covid cases, the Platinum committee met and revised some measures with immediate effect.
These measures will be reviewed in two weeks’ time.
This was announced by the Minister for Health Peggy Vidot and the Public Health Commissioner Dr Jude Gédéon in a special press conference yesterday at the Sheikh Khalifa diagnostic centre.
Minister Vidot started the press meet by thanking all who are making the efforts to obey the health guidelines in the fight against Covid-19 and also by thanking all the workers in Seychelles for respecting the rules for not partying.
“I also thank all religious bodies, public and private organisations for putting in place all the standard operating procedures. I also thank all the media for informing the public on the current situation and disseminating the right information to the world. When the wrong information is being published, it creates a negative image of the country and creates panic among the population.”
Minister Vidot referred to the article released by CDC warning travellers not to visit Seychelles and how it was taken out of context.
“The pandemic is becoming complex but this should not discourage us in our fight against Covid-19. As long as the pandemic is still ongoing in the world, we will have to adjust and readjust the way we live. In our ministry we reassure you all that we are following closely the situation so that we can have a proper strategy to deal with the Covid-19. I invite all of you to take your vaccination and also to respect all the health measures,” said Minister Vidot.
Our ongoing issues
Dr Gédéon confirmed that there is continuous community transmission. “Seychelles have currently 1068 active cases out of which 40 are health workers. Out of the confirmed 6373 cumulative cases, 5277 cases have been recovered. Of the current active cases, 84% are Seychellois and 16% foreigners. 65% of active cases are unvaccinated or had one dose of vaccine. 35% of the positive cases have taken both doses. Of all vaccinated cases 81% had received both doses and have let down their guard. The total number of pupils who tested positive from Crèche 1 to S5 are 49 and 16 are from post-secondary. The Family Hospital services are working at capacity.”
Do we have the new variants in Seychelles? Dr Gédéon explained that in an ongoing pandemic we do not know how fast the virus is changing. “The cases we received recently are mostly close contacts and the majority of them are without symptom or with mild symptoms. In the world right now, no country knows what kind of variant is prevalent in the country. We will keep doing the test to know more about our cases,” explained Dr Gedeon.
Regarding tests that are being done in other laboratories, Dr Gédéon noted that the procedures of sampling for the other laboratories are being revised in order to have better results.
Revised measures
- Closure of schools, post secondary and private included, up to Monday May 24, 2021
- No mixing of households; prohibition of all parties
- Earlier closure of all bars and casinos at 7pm. All SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) to be strictly observed.
- Closure of all shops at 7pm
- Cancellation of all commemoration gatherings (wedding parties, anniversaries, graduation etc)
- Cancellation of all shows, group sporting activities
- Cancellation of all conferences and meetings
- Reinforcement of all measures in shops, restaurants and food outlets, gyms, spas
- Stricter enforcement of PH orders - gathering restrictions, face masks wearing, isolation, etc
10 No gathering of more than 4 persons indoors or outdoors, including on beaches and public places, unless it is for work purposes
11 Quarantining all contacts for 14 days except in essential services who may be called in.
12 Isolation of households where there is a positive case with enforcement and necessary support mechanism (Family Affairs, Local Govt and Community Affairs, Red Cross, CEPS, Internal Affairs, DRDM)
12 Work from home as much as possible, especially for non critical services
CDC risks levels
Dr Gédéon explained that CDC compiled a list of 140 countries out of 192 countries. “It was not something new and since April this news was published on the web. We urge journalists to report a news item in its context.”
The press conference ended in a heated debate between the Minister for Health and a media practitioner from another media house.
