Since 5th March, there has been 197 deaths, with 42 during this week only. Dr Jagutpal, the Minister of Health, can no longer be reassuring as he announced that Delta is present in Mauritius at more than 75%, according to the latest sequencing on 33 samples taken and tested in mid-September. The Minister even informed that “the Delta will take over”. Pneunomologist, Dr Reesaul and Infectiologist, Dr Nuckcheddy have explained the virus circulating and the treatments at different stages of the Covid cases.
Shocking rate
The National Communication Committee’s weekly press conference on Covid-19 held in Port Louis on Friday 5th November was to detail the shocking rate of 42 deaths in one week. “14 were under 60 years and 28 were over 60 years. Only 22 of them were vaccinated while 36 of them had comorbidities,” Minister Jagutpal listed.
Rejuvenation in death toll and Delta
A rejuvenation of the victims is clearly spotted and since 5th March, “46 deceased were under 60 years of age of which 39 had comorbidities and 27 were not vaccinated. We can imagine the severity of the future for the unvaccinated,” said Dr Jagutpal.
The question then arises on the root cause – is this due to the infection caused by the Delta variant infection has but this has not been answered precisely. Dr Nuckcheddy has neither confirmed nor denied “Delta variant can indeed affect younger people. We will need more testing to determine whether this is the case or not as this variant is spreading. We have been warned that transmission is faster and more severe. Of the 33 samples sequenced, only 8 cases are B11,318 but 25 are the Delta variant, including 22 local cases and three imported cases.” “This represents more than 75% of the contamination,” said Dr Jagutpal, reminding us of the importance of barrier measures and vaccination and calling for individual responsibility!
Nonetheless, the current R Value is 1.2, which means that 10 people can infect an average of 12 people. “Delta variant will take over,” said the minister with the support of Dr Reesaul. On the other hand, Dr Nuckcheddy replied to a question by stating that “a person cured of Covid can certainly be recontaminated, especially if he is unvaccinated“. That’s it!
Vaccination – hesitation around Booster Shots
During this week, the country has recorded 705 new positive cases, including 27 imported cases. It is difficult to determine at the moment how many of these are delta cases. But the vaccination campaign is underway. 71.6% are primo vaccinated and more than 67%, i.e. 858,131 people are fully vaccinated. In Rodrigues, 59.3% are primo vaccinated and 57.5% are fully vaccinated. For the Pfizer under 18 vaccination campaign, 29,740 have already received their first dose and 12,581 their second dose. The hesitation remains around the Booster Shot with only 17,508 inoculated. Dr Nuckcheddy deplores this fact: “With the Delta circulating, I would suggest to everyone to do their Booster Shot.”
As far as quarantine is concerned, there are currently 181 passengers in quarantine, 80 of whom are unvaccinated and 101 of whom are in quarantine prior to their departure for those countries that impose this pre-departure isolation.
Admissions and treatment by stage
At the ENT hospital, there are currently 45 patients admitted, 6 of whom are on artificial respiration, 3 of whom are fully vaccinated, 2 unvaccinated and 1 under study. 26 are on oxygen, of which 11 are vaccinated, 12 unvaccinated and 3 under study. The 13 others are under observation. In the other hospitals, we counted 265 admissions. Pulmonologist, Dr. Reesaul wanted to clarify the three stages: “When symptoms are mild, self-isolation is advised as the symptoms are a rise in temperature, cough and flu-like illness, some mild respiratory distress and sometimes diarrhoea. For moderate cases or where admission is recommended as the patient needs to be monitored on their oxygen levels via the Pulse Oxymeter, where we keep their oxygen levels between 90-94 as recommended by WHO and CDC, the treatment will also require Corticosteroid therapy at about 8 grams of cortisol per day for 10 days, administration of anticoagulant and management of his oxygen level. The severe case that is sent to ENT Hospital is the one that requires a full workup and extensive treatment with 6-8 litres of oxygen and the use of a ventilation technique. If the patient’s condition deteriorates, he or she is placed on artificial ventilation.”
Other drugs than vaccines
There are alternatives and contributing drugs to vaccines that are already approved by the WHO and already on the market. According to infectious disease specialist, Dr Nuckcheddy, “the Remdesivir treatment is already on the market, the antiviral drug Fabiflu has also been approved to treat mild to moderate symptoms. There is also Ronapreve, a combination of two monoclonal antibodies, which is used at the beginning of treatment. Currently at the global level, other drugs are being approved,” he said, pointing out that the protocol established in Mauritius is regularly updated for the best treatment of Mauritians.
