From the passing away of Sir Aneerood Jugnauth, former Prime minister and President of the Republic of Mauritius, a new rise in the number of COVID-19 cases and the acceleration of the vaccination campaign, here's an insight into what happened in Mauritius in the first week of June.
Sir Aneerood Jugnauth is no more
This Friday, June 4, the entire Mauritian nation is mourning the death of Sir Aneerood Jugnauth, former Prime Minister and President of the Republic of Mauritius. He passed away on Thursday night at the age of 91 following a long illness. His relatives, friends and family describe SAJ as a great tribune and an exemplary family head. He has had a long and successful political career. Sir Aneerood Jugnauth's funeral will be held on Saturday at 2 p.m. at the Pamplemousses Botanical Garden. Two days of national mourning have been decreed, namely, this Friday, June 4 and Saturday, June 5. The Mauritian flag will remain at half-mast during these two days. Those who wish to pay him tribute can sign the condolence book available this Friday at Clarisse House.
New rise in the number of COVID-19 cases
Are we at the dawn of a third wave of COVID-19 in Mauritius? This is the least that we can deduce from the latest figures communicated by the Ministry of Health and Quality of Life. This week despite the strengthening of existing health restrictions, there was a new spike in the number of COVID-19 cases. As of Thursday, there were 163 active local cases in total after the drastic drop in recent weeks. Although Vallée Pitot is the only region remaining in the red zone, the new cases have been reported in different parts of the island. Contact tracing continues across the island.
The vaccination campaign speeds up
The Mauritian government is planning to get at least 40% of the population vaccinated against COVID-19 by the end of July. The aim is to achieve herd immunity, with at least 60% of the population vaccinated by the end of September. Fifteen vaccination centres have been set up across the island in order to reach the six target categories, namely, healthcare employees, front-lines, the elderly, and teachers and education staff, as well as economic operators and tourism staff. The vaccines will be administered from 9 to 11 a.m. to the elderly and from 11 to 4 p.m. for the other categories on appointment. Appointments can be made on the Economic Development Board website or by calling the hotline 203 38 00.
The Central Market closed until further notice
On Wednesday morning, the Central Market in Port Louis was temporarily closed after positive COVID-19 cases were detected among merchants. The premises were disinfected subsequently. Merchants had to undergo PCR tests on Thursday to check whether there has been further contamination.
Tourism: losses of Rs 13.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021
As Mauritius keeps its border closed due to the pandemic, the tourism sector has occurred a significant loss of Rs 13.6 billion in the first quarter of 2021. According to the latest figures by Statistics Mauritius, tourism jas only brought Rs 522 million. During the same period in 2020, there were 304,842 tourist arrivals against 2,772 only in 2021. Besides, the island is currently home to 113 hotels, 5 of which are temporarily closed for renovation, while fifteen have been converted into quarantine centres.
Mauritius under the effect of a new anticyclone
As you might have noticed, weather conditions have changed again on Wednesday with frequent winds and showers. As a strong anticyclone is approaching the region from the southwest, the weather is likely to go worse in the coming days. In recent days, the temperature has dropped significantly, varying between 16 and 19 degrees Celsius on the high lands and between 21 and 23 degrees Celsius on the coastal regions.
