99 deaths in 7 days. This is a record rate in terms of deaths for the period of 8 to 14 November. The same goes for the number of positive tests, which totalled 11,538. Only for Tuesday, there are 256 asymptomatic cases and 5 admitted to ENT Hospital. In his response to the PNQ of the Leader of the Opposition, the Minister of Health, Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal reported on the current situation in Covid. The chilling reality provoked intense reactions in Parliament on Tuesday 16 November, even calling for the minister’s resignation for mismanagement of the pandemic.
Deaths and positive cases
Out of the 99 deaths, 37 are attributed to pathologies other than Covid 19 contamination. Of these, 6 died at home. On the other hand, 62 are directly attributed to Covid-19, of which 1 patient breathed his last at home. In the same period, from 08 to 14 of this November, the number of positive cases was 11538. Out of 19,663 PCR tests done in public and private organisations, there are 1,332 positive cases and out of 28,016 Rapid Antigen Tests done in hospitals, 10,206 tests are positive. And of these, 798 patients have been completely cured.
Still concerning positive cases, but regarding kids, in response to a question from Ritesh Ramful, MP for Labour Party, Dr Jagutpal said, “831 children between 5 and 12 years of age have tested positive since March 2021 and 74 have been admitted to the Covid Wards of regional hospitals”.
These positive cases have given XLD more to respond to figures by the Government Information Services, which publishes Covid-19 news on a daily basis on a board. “Only for yesterday, the GIS published that only 77 positive cases were recorded” he said. The Opposition Leader recalled the fact that the WHO representative in Mauritius, Dr Laurent Musango, had indicated that rapid tests should be counted but the Minister replied, “We are following the Guidelines of the WHO”.
Other components of the PNQ
The Minister of Health, still responding to the PNQ, on the number of patients on life support, on oxygen, vaccinated and the number of those patients released still alive. “24 patients were placed on life support during the month of October. 22 of them died and only 2 were released. Of these 24 patients, 5 were fully vaccinated, 18 were not vaccinated and 1 had received a dose of vaccination. 171 patients were placed on oxygen and avoided intubation. 91 of them were discharged from the hospital,” he announced. XLD pointed out that “92% intubated in hospital ENT die. This is much higher than the global average rate. Why are we doing the wrong thing?” The Minister retorted “patients are not in an emergency state when they are admitted to ENT. They are in a state where tests are done and other treatments are given. That’s why!”
On the question about the current stock of Remdesivir vials, the Minister replied, “We have 71 vials of Remdesivir. 60 of them are at the Central Supply Division, 10 vials are at ENT and 1 vial at Jeetoo Hospital.”
Furthermore, on the issue of foreign assistance in the management of the pandemic, the country benefits from the assistance of the World Health Organisation and that of Reunion Island
Conclusions from both sides:
“The Opposition has a Twisted Logic”
A dejected Minister Jagutpal said, “The Opposition never puts forward the recovered patients of the virus. Since March 2021, we have recorded 17,506 recoveries in Mauritius.” He believes that the Opposition has a “twisted logic” that works to make the public “lose confidence in our health system. We have the capacity to limit the number of casualties but the Opposition is giving the false perception that our services are overwhelmed and our treatments are ineffective.”
Appeal for Minister Jagutpal’s resignation
During his press conference at the end of his PNQ, the Opposition Leader, Xavier Luc Duval said, reappropriating the expression, “Stupidity kills’ in Mauritius because we have a ridiculous Minister of Health“. He said he was shocked by the “absurdity” of Minister Jagutpal’s management of the pandemic and that the country had reached the point where foreign aid was being sought. XLD directly asked him during the meeting, “Given the situation, is it not decent for the Minister to resign?” to which Minister Jagutpal replied, “It is only for the Prime Minister to decide whether I should resign”.
