On this Friday 1st October 2021, we celebrate the World Day of Older Persons. On this occasion, Prime Minister Pravind Kumar Jugnauth spoke at the celebrations at Sir Harilal Vaghjee Hall in Port Louis.
“We had to face a very difficult situation with the ‘Lockdown’ and the closure of our borders”, said the Prime Minister. It was necessary to adapt other technological means in order to be able to communicate and supply our needs during this moment.
During his speech, Pravind Jugnauth emphasized the reopening of borders that coincides with the celebration of our elders. This reopening is synonymous with a return to normality step by step. With less stringent protocols than last time, more caution will have to be taken and in this context, the government will continue its campaign to protect public health.
“Bizin pas hesiter pou fer vaccin“. The Prime Minister calls for more vigilance, especially with the elderly. Since the beginning of the vaccination campaign; there were unfortunately 61 people, over the age of 60, who died due to Covid-19. Of these people, 50 were not vaccinated; that’s 86%. “Seeing this, it is clear how important vaccination is for our elders,” he says, especially with comorbidities so they suffer.
Mauritius has more than 242,000 elderly people, including 174 centenarians. Pravind Jugnauth is pleased that the life expectancy has increased. He has asked young people to give more attention to the elderly and he also spoke about the commitment made in the previous election regarding Rs 13,000 of pension for the elderly at the end of his term.
