Re opening of borders Phase 2 October 1st - Highlights

Update :

Concerning fully vaccinated travellers :

"As for those already fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their arrival on the island, they will still have to produce a negative PCR test before boarding the plane and will also be tested upon arrival. On the fifth day, a Rapid antigen test will be effected before they are allowed to explore the island."

Please note that fully vaccinated negative tested travellers are exempted from quarantine

Hi, we land in November and are busy arranging to view houses and visit the school the next day.  Staying in a Air B n b.  Please tell me we will not have to not sit in our Air b n b for five days... you do mention no quarantine  Your thoughts?  Thank you

That's the missing information we are all waiting for. The Deputy Prime Minister did emphasise that there won't be any quarantine, however no detail was provided on these "5 days stay".

I am sure we will be getting precise information on this point in the days to come as everyone is absolutely confused right now. Self-Isolation at home or airbnb might be an option or perhaps not leaving the village/town you are staying in... I can only suppose but can not confirm right now.

As soon as we get the relevant information, I'll keep you posted.

Thank you for the update hopefully all will be made clearer soon

Thank you, yes makes a big impact on our plans so I wait to hear!  I would have to move our air b n b reservation to Tamarin then so please do let me / us know as soon as you hear anything.  Thank you very much.

Hi Tash,
We are almost in the same situation as you,, but are going in 3 weeks.
My 13 year old boy is meant to start school so not ideal if we are housebound.

Agree, crazy, hope they make their minds up soon!  Have been saying all along on "quaratine" so this now makes no sense.  We have appointments booked with school and agents so hoping this falls away.

The schools are very flexible right now. Can take classes on Zoom if needed...

Hello everyone,

Well, it seems that fully vaccinated travellers will be able to explore the island freely. The rapid antigen test due on the 5th day is just a formality and shouldn't stop you from moving around.

- As for those already fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to their arrival on the island, they will still have to produce a negative PCR test before boarding the plane. Upon their arrival, they will be able to explore the island freely. On fifth day of their visit, they will have to do a Rapid antigen test.

This is indeed good news...

Not necessarily as the UK government will probably scraps lot of the testing in October to ease the pressure and the cost for a family holiday for the half term break in October https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … plans.html

I think will need to confirm have to submit negative pcr test 2 weeks before arrival or

No, those 2 weeks mentioned above refer to vaccination. It means that you should have been fully vaccinated at least 2 weeks prior to coming here.

Concerning PCR tests, the guidelines are as follows :

Vaccinated Guests

You must present a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours from the last point of embarkation to be allowed entry to the island.

A PCR test will be conducted on arrival.

A rapid antigen test will be conducted at day 5

Unvaccinated Guests

Unvaccinated travellers will need to present a negative PCR test taken 3-7 days from the last point of embarkation and book a quarantine stay.

You must book a quarantine stay in an official quarantine hotel, including meals and transfers.

You will be required to stay in your hotel room for 14 nights and meals will be delivered to your room.

Depending on the length of your stay, you will have a PCR test on day 7 and day 14.

After a negative PCR test on day 14, you can freely explore the island and move to new accommodation or go home



[link under review]

And how much will this Pcr test will cost as taking one In UK cost anything from £59 to £100 depend where you go. Also I have NHS pack rapid antegen test can I bring them to Mauritius and will they be accepted if I test myself.
We are encouraged to test ourselves every week at home in UK.
Is the Mauritius government planning to do the same as this would help tracking cases

Strange the US government issued a travel advisory for US citizens to avoid travel to Mauritius. I’ve been fully vaccinated since March, if boosters are recommended today, I will get that too. Only traveling yo MAU next March

Is a travel and health insurance required or optional when visiting Mauritius as a tourist from France for the maximum allowed of 3 Months ? thanks in advance.

Zulfi Ali wrote:

And how much will this Pcr test will cost as taking one In UK cost anything from £59 to £100 depend where you go. Also I have NHS pack rapid antegen test can I bring them to Mauritius and will they be accepted if I test myself.
We are encouraged to test ourselves every week at home in UK.
Is the Mauritius government planning to do the same as this would help tracking cases

PCR tests for travellers are conducted by the officers of Ministry of Health.
A PCR costs around Rs2500 - Rs3000

A rapid antigen test costs around Rs300.

I don't know whether you can bring your own (If tests are conducted by the officers of the Ministry of Health, you might not have the choice to use your own).

International unvaccinated travellers  will need to quarantine in one of the safe travel hotels, prices are as follows :

International travellers in quarantine:
You will have three tests: on day 0 at the airport, on day 7 and day 14 of your quarantine hotel stay.

Rs 12,000 for all three tests

weenalda wrote:

Strange the US government issued a travel advisory for US citizens to avoid travel to Mauritius. I’ve been fully vaccinated since March, if boosters are recommended today, I will get that too. Only traveling yo MAU next March

Authorities have been making arrangements for 3rd dose vaccination to those who have already been vaccinated twice (covaxin, sinopharm etc). Will start administrating 3rd dose in October. However I don't know whether it is a requirement for travellers to get a booster.

Heckstall wrote:

Is a travel and health insurance required or optional when visiting Mauritius as a tourist from France for the maximum allowed of 3 Months ? thanks in advance.

Air Mauritius doesn't mention any travel and health insurance maybe it is recommended (optional) https://www.airmauritius.com/covid-19-u … our-travel

Better you check out with them or your airline.

Regards

Thank you for the update

Will they accept THE NHS pcr test or does it have to be the private one

It has to be a centre recongnised/accredited by WHO. NHS is one of them, if i am not wrong. You will have to confirm with them.

as i understood it, the airlines will not accept the nhs pcr tests - but i could be wrong here. however this was certainly the case when we flew at the end of july....but as rules are changing all the time, i really couldnt be certain that this advice is still correct. i would check with your airline.

as for arriving in mauritius, i defer to the more knowledgeable anou as to what will be accepted!!

Rules have not changed. In that case not accepting nhs pcr test could still be valid. Zulfi Ali, please contact your airline for confirmation. The only thing mentioned by the DPM was that the PCR had to be done by a WHO accredited centre but depends on airlines as well...

The UK govt is scrapping a lots of these rules as from 4 0ctober.  Please keep in touch with press release as things can change at any time:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/ … l-25010473

I'm considering moving to Mauritius to live with my daughter, but there is no way I'm taking the vaccine. So I'll wait until it's not mandatory anymore.

Does anybody know of an airline that will take a pet bird as a passenger, with it's own seat? It's for flights from South Africa to Mauritius.

Thanks.

Yes, Horns Road is very busy as usual but it’s good for me to get buses to Ilford and connect to city and also a walking distance to Central Line Tube station. As a senior citizen with a freedom pass life could be very exciting but with COVID-19 I have avoided public transport during the whole of pandemic!! Are you in Mauritius now?? I am going to fly out to Mauritius on the 14 October for 2 months!!
Take Care
Vedan

Hello everyone,

Please take note that it is mandatory to have covid-19 health insurance coverage before coming here (it applies to both vaccinated and unvaccinated travellers)

It is mandatory to arrange COVID-19 insurance health cover (Mauritian citizens are exempt)

https://mauritiusnow.com/

***

there is indeed a lot of fake news about. i had a beer and watched the football in my local mauritian pub just the other night and paid for the drinks with cash from the atm across the road. My kids have been going to school every day since august (though admittedly there has been some rotation in days to keep transmission rates as  low as possible (so some home schooling). And i'm off to the beach in a minute for my daily swim as will a lot of locals. you cant picnic on the beach - but crikey that is hardly a catastrophe. Normal will return if people listen to the scientists and doctors, get themselves vaccinated and stop listening to fake news.

And to add to the above comment, gyms are open. Been to the beach every week, lots of people on the beach enjoying a swim. ATM closed? That is just impossible!Banks, ATM, markets, everything is open. People are out running or enjoying long walks, playing football, basketball....Futsal, Foot5 pitch is open as well.

Lol, thank you Stan and Anou for keeping it real   We are so looking forward to our arrival.  Natasha

standaman1967 wrote:

there is indeed a lot of fake news about. i had a beer and watched the football in my local mauritian pub just the other night and paid for the drinks with cash from the atm across the road. My kids have been going to school every day since august (though admittedly there has been some rotation in days to keep transmission rates as  low as possible (so some home schooling). And i'm off to the beach in a minute for my daily swim as will a lot of locals. you cant picnic on the beach - but crikey that is hardly a catastrophe. Normal will return if people listen to the scientists and doctors, get themselves vaccinated and stop listening to fake news.

Fake news  hahaha. Good luck with getting an experimental drug injected in your body then. I suppose only time will tell. Oh by the way the latest data from UK government is that 90% of the deaths now are for the patients who were fully vaccinated with both doses.I will post the link here.Also do not forget to view the yellow card status of the side effects reported by people who took the vaccination who all were healthy and never had an issue before. All the best

Something worth reading here too...
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl … years.html

@ MaisonMaurice,

It was indeed fake news posted by Mike Blair stating that he has heard from people here that ATM are closed, gyms are closed, beaches as well, bars are closed, can't go to the pub for a drink etc.

The post has been correctly moderated. And Standaman is absolutely right pointing these few true facts. You are here in Mauritius as well, I think you would agree on these few points.

to pick up on the point that the majority if people being hospitalised have been vaccinated is true - and of course if you did the maths and thought about it logically, it makes perfect sense - if you vaccinate almost 100% of your adult population, as the uk has, then effectively those that get ill despite the vaccination campaign, are still going to be the most vulnerable - ie the elderly, those with pre-conditions, etc. in other words when all things are equal, then these same groups are the ones most likely to end up with a serious illness. crucially though - and again a vital fact you neglected to mention, is that hospitalisations and serious illness in the uk and deaths - are a fraction of what they were as a % of new cases, from a year ago.

So Anou this covid 19 health insurance is that via the airline or and how much is normally any idea

@ Zulfi Ali,do you currently have a health insurance coverage ? Most health insurance providers have added Covid-19 coverage to their existing contract and have informed their clients.

I don't know many airlines that offer health insurance coverage apart emirates. Are you flying by emirates ?

standaman1967 wrote:

to pick up on the point that the majority if people being hospitalised have been vaccinated is true - and of course if you did the maths and thought about it logically, it makes perfect sense - if you vaccinate almost 100% of your adult population, as the uk has, then effectively those that get ill despite the vaccination campaign, are still going to be the most vulnerable - ie the elderly, those with pre-conditions, etc. in other words when all things are equal, then these same groups are the ones most likely to end up with a serious illness. crucially though - and again a vital fact you neglected to mention, is that hospitalisations and serious illness in the uk and deaths - are a fraction of what they were as a % of new cases, from a year ago.

Yes, your point is covered on this episode of the podcast More Or Less on the BBC.

Worth a listen:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000zdtc

Try again maybe and you might rethink again if you would really like to get a vaccine.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publicati … -reactions