The Covid 19 situation in the Mascarene Islands differs from one another but with one thing in common, according to the analysis and given that it is the Omicron variant that predominates, the trend in the rate of positive cases is predicted to take a downward slope by next month. Of course, Covid 19 is unpredictable and it will depend on everyone’s responsibility to make this prediction come true. Events, holidays and loosened health restrictions could prove this prediction wrong.
6 deaths of positive patients
In Mauritius, as of the last report card on Monday 28 February, the country had 344 positive cases. According to the previous week’s census, the rate is steadily increasing with 78 positive cases on Monday 21, 162 on Tuesday 22, 233 on Wednesday 23, 252 on Thursday 24 and 257 on Friday 25. Worse, in the last 48 hours, according to reports to the police, the deaths of 6 positive patients admitted to the New ENT have been reported. Three were under 70 years of age and three were over 70 years of age, one of whom was 92 years old and lived in Forest-Side. The majority of these 6 deaths were unvaccinated and had co-morbidities. Mauritius celebrated the Mahashivratree on March 1st and prior to the festival, for at least a week, many pilgrims walk to the Great Basin. They were in smaller numbers with a low rate of Kanwars on the streets, but still, crowds and a distance of less than a metre were reported. The country hopes that these ‘blunders’ will not increase the rate of positivity further.
Rodrigues: parades, crowds and concerts
In Rodrigues, the official page of the Rodrigues Regional Assembly reports 63 new cases as of Monday 28 February. Since the explosion on 26 January, the island has 8,502 positive cases. With 7941 people considered cured, the number of active cases is 544. This shows that the number of active cases has decreased. However, Rodrigues was in the midst of preparing for the regional elections. Despite the formal ban, there was less uncontrolled physical distancing before, during and after the elections, especially after the announcement that the Liberation Alliance had won the elections, there were parades, crowds as well as concerts and other forms of public gatherings. The concern of observers is just another explosion of positive cases. Let’s stay optimistic!
Reunionese literally breathing better
The curfew imposed from 11pm to 5am has been abolished, wearing a mask outdoors is no longer compulsory, there are no more gauges in establishments open to the public, including stadiums, restaurants and bars, and picnics and bivouacs are once again allowed… with the incidence rate having fallen to 1592 per 100,000 inhabitants, most of the health restrictions, in force since 1 January, were lifted on Monday 22 February. The situation is even less serious in the intensive care units, with a drop to 40 out of 108 intensive care beds occupied by patients contaminated by Covid-19. This decision to “loosen the measures to curb the epidemic on the island” announced by the prefect Jacques Billant is “in view of the favourable evolution of the health data“. The sister island has seen an improvement since the beginning of February. And the nightlife could also start again on Reunion Island if the situation improves further during the month of March. This will lead to the reopening of discotheques and the authorisation of standing concerts and drinking in bars, cafés and restaurants.
