Mauritius to lift curfew on 30 May 2020, at midnight, says PM

Today, said Mr Jugnauth, each person will
agree that the lockdown was necessary, and, along with other sanitary measures introduced,
has been fruitful.  Now, Mauritius is embarking
on a new phase. 

Commenting on current Covid-19 figures as
at now, the Prime Minister observed that Mauritius has registered three imported
Covid-19 cases.  These patients were
passengers in quarantine but the country has not recorded any new local case
over more than a month.  Presently,
Mauritius is among the first countries to have carried out more screenings per
1000 inhabitants.  As at now, more than
110 000 tests have been conducted.  It is
on the basis of this data, that Government has taken the decision to ease the
curfew on Saturday 30 May 2020 at midnight, he pointed out.

The only way to fully protect each citizen
is to stay indoors but this cannot be the case in the long term and this is why
the lockdown has been eased in a phased manner, he highlighted.  Covid-19 has impacted the world on the
medical front and has also affected economies and the social sphere and
Mauritius has not been spared, he indicated.

Mauritius, said Mr Jugnauth, has successfully
managed the crisis and a number of activities will be able to resume.  However, there are a number of laws and
instructions by which citizens will have to abide as Mauritians will have to
learn how to live and work in a post Covid world, he remarked. 

The Prime Minister said that the sacrifice
each citizen has made has brought a positive outcome and cautioned that if ever
local sources of contamination are detected, strict measures will be
imposed.  He urged Mauritians to maintain
precautionary actions such as wearing of masks, avoiding spitting in public
spaces, respecting social distancing where possible, and washing hands
regularly.  He advised citizens
presenting Covid-19 symptoms, to go to Covid Testing Centres to avoid
generating local sources of contamination.

The two-month curfew has severely impacted
our economy and if there is a second lockdown it will be even more difficult
for our economy to take off, said Mr Jugnauth. 
Next week the National Budget will be presented in a situation in which
never before our country has had to face, he observed.

Government, said the Prime Minister, is
aware that an aggressive economic recovery is important and it is crucial to
avoid the widening of the gap between different social classes.  There are many challenges facing Mauritius
and we have to introduce constructive actions and if we all work together we
will progress, he added.  He further
expressed conviction that as a country, Mauritius will be able to face all
challenges in the future and succeed.

Resumption
of activities

The Prime Minister further outlined how the
lockdown will be eased

These include: citizens will be able to go
out without abiding to the alphabetical order rule; the Work Access Permit will
not be used; the elderly and those who have a weak health will have to avoid
rush hours to travel; those aged under 18 will be able to go out; day care
centres and nurseries will be allowed to operate; and trades such as
supermarkets will be able to operate on a normal hour basis without having to
necessarily respect the alphabetical order rule.

The wearing of masks will be compulsory and
social distancing will have to be respected as much as possible.  Restaurants, coffee shops, food courts,
shops, arcades and shopping malls will be allowed to resume operation under
certain sanitary conditions.  Food and
vegetable markets will be allowed to open as per the instructions of Municipality
and District Council.

It is recalled that already this week,
local authorities have proceeded with the disinfection of all food and
vegetable markets.  Government is
advising citizens to continue working from home wherever possible.

Individual sporting activities will be
permitted under certain sanitary conditions. 
Places of worship will be allowed to receive devotees.  Beaches, fairs, cinemas and nightclubs will remain
closed.  Collective sporting activities,
socio-cultural gatherings, sporting and cultural events will not be
authorised.  However, this decision will
be reviewed in two weeks time.

If the Government sees that after testing
the population that the number of local cases remains nil, these activities
will be able to resume and all public places and other trades will be able to
operate after Monday 15 June 2020.

As for the education sector, schools will
not open now but on 1^st August schools will open to prepare school
personnel, students and parents for the resumption of classes scheduled for Monday
3 August 2020.  Mauritius frontiers will
not open for the moment but stranded Mauritian nationals are being repatriated
in a controlled manner to stay safe and avoid the propagation of the virus.

#ResOuLakaz #BeSafeMoris​

Govenrment Information Service, Prime
Minister’s Office, Level 6, New Government Centre, Port Louis, Mauritius.
Email: gis@govmu.org  Website: http://gis.govmu.org  Mobile App: Search Gov