The current situation of the Covid 19 in Rodrigues is such that the elections are likely to be postponed. Pravind Jugnauth has announced on Saturday 5th February during the MSM Political Bureau at the Sun Trust headquarters that this possibility is to be considered.
The 10th district currently has 3041 positive cases. The count of admissions for this Sunday 06 February is 30 patients, with 17 in the Creve Coeur hospital and 13 in the Mont Lubin isolation centre. 1 patient is under artificial respiration. The number of cases in self-isolation has not yet been counted, but these cases are still served by a DMU team in case of emergency. At the last sequencing made public on Friday 4th February of the 24 positive samples taken, they all carry the characteristics of the Omicron variant but there is no official confirmation yet from the Central Health Laboratory about the circulation of the variant on the island.
This pandemic situation is jeopardising plans for the elections. Candidates are torn between going to the polls in compliance with the barrier measures and waiting for the pandemic to subside so as not to put voters at risk. The priority is to gather as many eligible voters as possible for this decisive moment but holding the elections during the pandemic might penalise those voters due to the spread of the disease or the barrier measures. However, the final decision is to be taken by the Prime Minister, Pravind Jugnauth.
No decision has been taken yet and the PM says that he is following the situation closely. “It is not an easy situation, because when the Assembly was dissolved, there was no case of Covid-19 in Rodrigues yet. I can’t say yet whether the elections will be postponed or not. With this situation, it definitely remains a possibility. The announcement will be made in due course as the pandemic situation develops” said the PM. This evolution of the pandemic in Rodrigues is to be followed.
