Republic of Mauritius- National Action Plan to respond to Covid-19

He indicated that this preparedness plan underlines the actions to be taken at the level of hospitals, airport and port. The plan, he said, comprises several themes relating to coordination, equipment, human resources, and supply of drugs.

Furthermore, Dr Jagutpal stated that a dedicated and qualified medical and paramedical staff as well as a rapid response team in each hospital and the different ports of entry have been trained to intervene on elements of infection prevention and how to tackle potential cases. Some 25 000 N-95 masks and body protection equipment are also available, he said.

The Health Minister added that sensitisation campaigns on Covid-19 are ongoing in the media on the basics of the disease, how it is transmitted and the preventive measures that can be taken to prevent proliferation of the virus. He reassured the population that as at date, there are is case of Covid-19 in Mauritius adding that the country is fully prepared as regards prevention and control measures. He also appealed to the population not to create confusion and spread fear.

Infected cases around the world

Speaking about the spread of the disease worldwide, Dr Jagutpal indicated that six new countries have reported new cases of Covid-19 namely Romania, North Macedonia Georgia, Greece, Norway and Pakistan. The number of cases is also increasing in Italy and new provinces have been affected such as Campania, Marche and Puglia. The virus has now spread in more than half of the Italian’s regions, he said.

In view of the situation, he pointed out that all passengers who have stayed within the last 14 days in the three Italian provinces affected by Covid-19, namely Lombardy, Veneto and Emilia Romagna, will not be allowed to enter Mauritius. Furthermore, since South Korea has raised alert to its maximum, with 1 595 cases as at 26 February 2020, passengers who have visited South Korea in the last 14 days will not be allowed to enter Mauritius, he added.

All passengers coming from Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand and Japan will be transferred to quarantine if high temperature is detected upon arrival. Screening at the airport will also be reinforced, he said.