Sinopharm and Covaxin are synonyms of ‘’brake”. The two vaccines donated respectively by China and India and distributed freely by the Mauritian Government have not been recognised and approved yet by the European Union (EU) and the European Medicines Agency (EMEA).
It reigns an atmosphere of uncertainty for coming holidays. The big question that arises: “Do the European expatriates and Mauritians who have been inoculated with those two vaccines will be able or not to travel towards Europe, or any other French territory without going through a quarantine or self-isolation and proof of a negative PCR Test?”
The French embassy does not provide much of a solution to this problem. On their website, it is formally indicated that only expatriates who have received doses of vaccines that are officially authorized in the EU, namely, Pfizer, Moderna, Johnson & Johnson / Janssen, AstraZeneca/ Oxford/ Covishield, will be exempted on their arrival in Europe territory. Furthermore, it is also specified that only travellers from countries classified in the green category are exempted from quarantine on their arrival if they provide a negative PCR test carried out within 72 hours from departure or an approved vaccine certificate. For those coming from the orange and red zones quarantine or self-isolation, it will be a must depending of the country they come from. Mauritius is unfortunately an Orange zone!
Expatriates are not keeping mum on the situation. A group of French expatriates have created an online petition where they are collecting signatures to demand to their ambassador, Florence Caussé-Tissier to provide them the necessary amount of doses of Moderna or Pfizer or any other certified vaccine for the whole French expatriate population in Mauritius.
“Apart from China and Saudi Arabia for Hajj Pilgrims, no country is asking for compulsory vaccination, only a PCR Test done at least 72 hours from departure. Depending on the countries, they will demand a self-Isolation of 7 days or quarantine of 14 days. The EU will very soon approve Sinopharm as the WHO has already approved the Sinopharma and Sinovac to form part of the Covax Vaccination Program and thus will beneficiate the same status as the other certified vaccines. And concerning the ‘Motifs Impérieux’ there will be major changes till the reopening of our borders set for the 15th of July” confirms a communications officer of the government.
