Following the new regulations concerning the situation due to the propagation of the ‘COVID-19’ virus, as well as the scheduled flights between Mauritius and Rodrigues as from the 15th of July, the local people are rushing to get vaccinated at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital (QEH) and at the health centres, namely Mont Lubin and La Ferme. On the 5th of July, as early as 8 o’clock, the different vaccination centres were so crowded that the police had to intervene at the QEH at Creve-Coeur to prevent the situation from getting worse. According to the authorities, there will be sufficient vaccines for the population. The only vaccine in use in Rodrigues is ‘Sinopharm’. In answer to a parliamentary question during a recent ‘Rodrigues Regional Assembly’ (RRA) sitting, the Commissioner for Health, Simon Pierre Roussety stated that more than 60 % of the Rodriguan population would have been vaccinated by the end of July. We must wait to see how far this is true.
Furthermore, the new protocol which had been proposed by the RRA to the central government for the resuming of flights to Rodrigues has been approved with amendments by the ‘High Level Committee on the COVID-19’ in Mauritius on the 3rd of July. So, according to this protocol, as from the 15th of July, all passengers landing at Plaine Corail airport will no longer have to be in quarantine for seven days and will be authorised to go home directly from the airport. However, they will be advised by the local authorities to stay in auto-isolation at home for seven days. Various observers have expressed their scepticism about this issue, as they think that it will be difficult for the newcomers to stay in auto-isolation. The authorities appeal to the population to strictly observe the protocol for wearing of masks, social distancing, regular washing of hands, and so on, but most important is to be vaccinated against the virus at the earliest. Some people say that, until now, they were reluctant to be vaccinated because of all sorts or rumours, genuine or not, which have been spreading about the vaccine.
According to Moostoopha Jeetoo, a well-known Mauritian ‘Senior Analyst’ who had been posted in Rodrigues for more than a decade, the vaccination of the whole Rodrigues population can be completed within a week. He said so on social network some days back. « The population above 18 years is about 28,601 (65,9%) out of a total population of 43,371. Those above 60 are about 5,591 (12 % of the population). The total vaccines required for the whole population for both doses is estimated at 50,000. Due to poor planning and amateurism, the program has not been implemented successfully. Failing to plan is planning to fail », he wrote. Everybody wants Rodrigues to stay ‘COVID safe’. We will see in a very near future whether this is a dream or a utopia. The Chief Commissioner Serge Clair always says ‘Yes, we can’…
