Post-confinement will be phase-wise, says PM

The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this statement, in a televised address to the population, this evening, from the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation, in Moka.

The Prime Minister recalled that on 20 March 2020 the curfew was introduced and in the same vein as for the confinement, Government is ensuring that the lifting of the lockdown is done in all transparency and in a democratic manner. Therefore, the proposals of all social partners, the private sector, NGOs and essential service-providers are being taken on board.

In addition, Mr Jugnauth indicated that the Covid-19 Bill will be one of the priority Bills to be debated at the next sitting of the National Assembly.  Accordingly, works are underway at the National Assembly to allow all Parliamentarians be present in respect to all hygiene protocols.

With regard to the availability of masks, the Prime Minister pointed out that the textile industry, pharmacies and other distributors are contributing to ensure that there are sufficient stocks on the market for the population. But the prices will be fixed by Government, he added.

Speaking about the first phase of lifting the lockdown, Mr Jugnauth emphasised that citizens will continue to shop in supermarkets in alphabetical order. Furthermore, public gatherings will not be allowed and schools will remain closed, he stated.  Additional information will be communicated by the Ministry of Education, Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, in due time.  Other food trades, such as bakeries will be allowed to operate, but will have to implement the social distancing rules. The healthcare system will also be reorganised thus, across hospitals, dedicated flu clinics will be set up to channel people who have symptoms of Covid-19.

The Prime Minister announced that as from tomorrow, a mass testing for 35 000 people, mostly frontliners, namely the health personnel, the Police Force and supermarket employees, will be launched.  It is mainly due to their hard work that the spread of the virus has so far been curbed, he lauded.

The Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Development, jointly with the Bank of Mauritius, is working on a recovery plan for investment and the economy, he further stated.  The Prime Minister observed that this is also a world economic crisis affecting all countries and enterprises and, in Mauritius, the national air carrier, Air Mauritius is now under voluntary administration. 

According to him, voluntary administration is the only way out to ensure that Air Mauritius does not go bankrupt.  The Air Mauritius aircrafts will not fly any time soon and there will be no revenue, and, many air carriers worldwide are facing the same scenario.  However, he assured that Government is closely monitoring the situation.

The Prime Minister emphasised that Mauritius has to succeed in its mission in lifting the lockdown and at the same avoid a second surge of the Covid-19.  He cited as example Singapore whereby that country jumped from having 200 Covid-19 cases on 15 March 2020 to more than 12 000 registered cases as at now.  It is for this reason that we have to take all the time needed to work towards a smooth post-confinement process, he said.

The Prime Minister called upon the population to be disciplined as it is the only way for a successful post-confinement plan.  He also seized the opportunity to wish all citizens of Muslim faith a Holy month of Ramadan. 

#ResOuLakaz     #BeSafeMoris