The answers of the Ministers to the MPs were not really to the liking of the Assembly, especially on the issue of price control where Xavier Luc Duval denounced Minister Soodesh Callichurn for his offhand attitude. The Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun, announced the Covid 19 assessment in schools.
Covid in schools: 1505 cases in 2 months
This is the rate announced by the Minister of Education, Leela Devi Dookun Luchoomun in Parliament on Tuesday 19 April. This is the total number of cases recorded since the beginning of the school year in February to 10 April. In this period, the Testing Teams have recorded 40920 rapid tests. The Minister was answering questions from Mahend Gungaparsad, a Labour Party MP. The latter wanted details on the results of the Covid-19 testing teams since the start of the school year, including the number of tests carried out and the number of pupils who tested positive.
Still on the subject of Covid 19, 53 employees of the Mauritius Post are banned from working because they are not duly vaccinated. Deepak Balgobin reassured Adil Ameer Meea that replacement measures have been taken and that his ministry is taking the responsibility to motivate these 53 employees to be vaccinated.
80 cases of negligence under investigation
Staying on the health front, 80 cases of negligence have been reported and treated since 2019, told Dr Kailesh Jagutpal to MP Karen Foo Kune Bacha, who wanted to know the number of complaints registered in the neonatal department of government hospitals. 20 of these cases are in the neonatal and maternity departments. 9 of these cases were referred to the Medical Council for disciplinary action. An audit by Dr Simon Clark has been carried out and his report is already under consideration. Following a report on the deaths of newborns, a request has been made to the Ministry of Finance for the assignment of a Gynaecologist to these departments on a 24/7 basis.
Price control of medicines is still not controlled
Xavier Luc Duval does not intend to drop the bone. He came back with the “complex issue” of the Competition Commission of Mauritius’ recommendations on the regularization of drug prices and the application of a regressive mark-up system. Xavier-Luc Duval recalled that the Minister of Health, Kailesh Jaugutpal, had stated a fortnight ago that the increase in the price of medicines was 30% annually. He said he was puzzled that a decision had not been taken when four meetings were held from June 2021 to February 2022 on the subject with representatives from the Ministries of Health and Commerce, the Economic Development Board, the Pharmacy Board and the Mauritius Revenue Authority. Soodesh Callychurn’s statement did not please him. “Let the technical committee finish its work and then we will consider“. Xavier Luc Duval recalled that the country is facing an unparalleled high cost of living. In his press conference after his PNQ, the Opposition Leader stated that for him, the ‘Technical Committee’ mentioned is a sham and that the Minister of Commerce has been flippant.”
