The subject that is all over the news has once again taken over the debates. Of the 61 fully vaccinated deaths admitted to hospitals in Mauritius from 01 January to 07 November, 44 were duly vaccinated with Sinopharm. From 25 October to 07 November, 15,236 positive cases were detected in 14 days by the PCR and Rapid Antigenic Tests. The stock of the drugs Tocilizumab, Ronapreve and Molnupiravir were also at the center of the discussions. During his meeting with the press after the Private Notice Question, Xavier-Luc Duval, the leader of the Opposition, pleaded for the restitution of restrictions to break the chain of transmission, given the poor management of the pandemic.
The wrong vaccine in use!
The debate was mainly between the Opposition and the Minister of Health. According to the Opposition’s analysis and the figures put forward, the wrong vaccines are being used for the prevention of Covid-19, i.e. Sinopharm. With his two questions, namely “Do you not have the right medicine to treat people?” and “Why are people dying like flies in Mauritius?”, XLD blames the government for mismanaging the pandemic and for being responsible for so many infections and deaths. Of the 61 people duly vaccinated, 44 had received Sinopharm, 7 had the Johnson & Johnson vaccines, 5 got the AstraZeneca vaccine and 5 were vaccinated of the Covaxin. 48 were admitted to the New ENT Hospital in Vacoas, 5 to the Victoria Hospital in Candos, 3 to the SSR Hospital in Pamplemousses, 3 to the Dr Bruno Cheong Hospital in Flacq and 2 to the Dr A.G. Jeetoo Hospital in Port-Louis. For his part, Dr Jagutpal stressed that “patients’ comorbidities must be taken into consideration“, stating that 20% of the Mauritian population is diabetic.
15,236 positive PCR and Rapid Test
1,538 positive PCR tests were collected out of 32,593 tests done for the period from 25 October to 07 November. 14,840 tests were done at the Airport Health Laboratory, 8,298 at Welkin Hospital, 4,410 at the Central Health Laboratory, 4,189 at the Novalab, 743 at the City Clinic and 113 at the Aegle Clinic. In terms of rapid antigenic tests for the same period, the department collected 13,698 positive tests out of 42,001 tests. This brings the total number of positive cases to over the 14 days.
Availability of approved Drugs
The response on the availability and stock of the drugs Tocilizumab, Ronapreve and Molnupiravir has not been adequately addressed as expected by the Opposition. They are to be procured. Tenders have already been launched since 05 October for 300 additional injections of Tocilizumab have been modified to 600 injections. The cost of an injection would be around Rs 20,000 and would only be available in December, according to the representative of Roche Laboratories in Mauritius. The Minister also announced that he welcomes the efforts of anyone who can help shorten this waiting time for these drugs.
Nevertheless, Dr Jagutpal announced that Fabiflu, i.e. Faviparivir, has been approved by the Drugs and Therapeutic Committee of the Ministry of Health and that 17 000 tablets are in stock. He also listed the steroids, antibiotics and anticoagulants used and approved internationally in this treatment. The steroid dexamethasone 6 mg injection is available at 28,526 doses. The stock of the anticoagulant Enoxaparin or Lovenox 0.4 ml injection at 76,440 doses. As for antibiotics, 247,320 doses of Ceftriaxone or Rocephine 1g injection, 3,640 doses of Meropenem 1g injection, 3,090 doses of Meropenem 500 mg injection, 19,040 doses of Colistin 1 mega injection and 15,300 doses of Vancomycin 1g injection are available.
XLD calls for the restitution of restrictions
In his post-PNQ press conference, the Opposition Leader argued that the government is showing incompetency in their strategy to manage the pandemic. “We must break the chain of transmission of Covid-19 by imposing new restrictions for a few weeks,” said the Opposition Leader. Thus, on behalf of the Opposition, he called for the closure of schools and restrictions on some activities such as leisure, social activities as well as shops and markets, and for better monitoring of the population’s barrier actions.
