They clashed over numbers. Minister Kailesh Jagutpal was responding to the Opposition leader’s PNQs and the latter was firmly opposing the replies of the Minister. With a version of information from sources that he refused to present to the Speaker, Xavier Luc Duval was not reassured neither about the rate of these deaths attributed to Covid-19 nor the rate of vaccines available but he was certain of his claim that Sinopharm was a bad vaccine!
821 more deaths than in November 2020
The death rate have almost doubled. “From 01 November to 29 November 2020, it was 865 as compared to 1686 from 01 November to 29 November 2021. This is an increase of 821 deaths. And since 01 November, the death rate attributed to Covid is 348 victims. Of these victims, 156 were fully vaccinated, including 8 with Johnson & Johnson, 16 with AstraZeneca, 44 with Covaxin and 88 with Sinopharm,” replied the Minister of Health. The mortality rate for unvaccinated people is 15.6% per 100,000. For those vaccinated, the figure is 7.2%.
Above all, Xavier Luc Duval was outraged by this multiplication of recorded deaths, attributing them rather to Covid 19, “we will say 90% of the deaths are due to Covid 19. Mauritius is in mourning and yet, the government continues to distort the figures,” said Xavier Duval in his press conference.
Our Sinopharm offered to Zimbabwe and Rwanda
XLD did not shy away from the second part of the statement, saying that he was right to say that Sinopharm was less effective, and that the country would no longer administer Sinopharm. The Minister then announced that “the stock of Sinopharm and Sputnik will be used to help countries in need, including 60,000 doses of Sinopharm in Zimbabwe and Rwanda 50,000 doses of Sinopharm and 60,000 doses of Sputnik V“. The Minister also defended Sinopharm by saying that the vaccine has proven to be effective during its use.
Still on the subject of vaccines, the Minister revealed that the Booster Dose has reached 94,846 people and that 33713 of the vaccinated are over 60 years old. The third dose, according to the minister, would be delayed as many have not reached the minimum of 4 to 6 months’ interval. But Xavier asked that the elderly be contacted for their third dose.
Pfizer, for when?
Dr Jagutpal also announced that “the ministry has 109,248 doses of Pfizer and 286,945 doses of Johnson and Johnson.” The Opposition leader said he did not believe in these stock figures and also questioned the Health Minister on the exact date of arrival of the Pfizer shipment, which was announced for early December. Dr Kailesh Jagutpal has made it clear that the shipment will arrive in Mauritius in early 2022 rather and that the Ministry cannot be responsible for the delay as it depends on the African Union.
Omicron not ‘yet’ affected Mauritius
“No case of Omicron has yet been detected in Mauritius,” was the of the Health Minister that was disputed by the Opposition Leader, who attributed the ‘non-detection’ to a lack of sequencing tests and had questioned the sequencing processes in Mauritius. The Minister has made it clear that the country is empowered to carry out 200 sequencing tests per month and that a “Preparedness Plan” on the variant and sequencing has already been set up. The Minister also revealed that special PCR tests, which can give a first indication on a variant, are already in use at the airport but so far, the results did not show any on the Omicron variant.
According to Xavier Duval, the minister is “being evasive on the question since he hasn’t received any report of sequencing”. As far as the Delta variant wave is concerned, “it seems that management of this wave of Covid is stabilising and that the peak was reached last week, but as little information is available on Omicron to the researchers and authorities, the dangerousness and management remains questionable. Whether Omicron can be more offensive than Delta or not, we don’t know in any case but draconian measures are being taken at international level.”
14th month bonus not a ‘prerogative’ of Minister Jagutpal
“The issue is not my prerogative,” was Minister Jagutpal’s response. He was replying to the Opposition leader on the possibility of a 14th month bonus for nursing and non-healthcare staff in public medical institutions. In his defence, the Minister said: “Despite the difficult economic situation, the government has paid a substantial amount this month representing the arrears of the Pay Research Bureau Report 2021 for the months of January to October 2021 as well as for the month of November 2021. As for the 14th month bonus, this is not my responsibility.”
