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COVID-19 update |02 October 2020

COVID-19 update

Dr Gedeon and Dr Louange during the press conference yesterday (Photo: Anel Robert)

Only one active case in Seychelles

 

• 143 cases recovered

 

As of October 1, 2020, Seychelles has only one active case of Covid-19 and 143 cases have recovered.

This was announced by the Public Health Commissioner, Dr Jude Gédéon, in a press conference at the Sheikh Khalifa Diagnostic Centre. He was accompanied by the Health Care Agency chief executive, Dr Danny Louange.

“Globally the Covid-19 pandemic is not showing signs of abating in many areas but stabilising in many others especially in Africa where the number of new cases have dropped remarkably. We have seen an acceleration in new cases in several European countries and in the Americas. On the local front, we have only one current active case of a Seychellois. On the testing front, we have done more than 4000 tests in September and we expect that in October the tests will be more as we will be welcoming tourists from other countries. As of today the new list of country comes into effect. From June to now, we have managed to contain the situation and we hope we will continue in the same line.”

 

Quarantine/surveillance rule

“For Seychellois, they may return from any country and if they are coming from countries from category I they go directly for home quarantine/surveillance. Whereas if they come from any other countries not in the category 1 list, they will have to be quarantined in an approved facility.

“For visitors, if they are coming from permitted countries, they have to go in approved establishments which are found on the tourism website. But if they are coming from special status countries (France, UAE, UK), they have to have their PCR test 48hrs prior to travelling and they have to spend five days in a Transit hotel and do another PCR test in five days. If negative, they can remain or move to other approved establishments,” explained Dr Gédéon.

 

Cost for 14 days of quarantine at Berjaya

Dr Louange noted that 119 people are in quarantine and they are all well and only one person is in isolation.

Asked about the person who was working at Kempinski and passed away at Anse Royale Hospital, he confirmed that “after further investigation, the person in question had other health issues which were fatal to him”.

The current cost of quarantine for 14 days in Seychelles is: for one adult: R17,875; for a child aged between 2 to 5 years: R6237; for a child aged 6 to 11 years: R7028; for 2 adults sharing double room: R27,749 and for three Adults sharing triple room: R 37,625.

The total price includes fees for accommodation, food, laundry and linen, toiletries, transportation services, Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and human resources costs. Arrangement for payment will be made upon your arrival at the quarantine facility and currently the Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay is being used as the quarantine facility.

The exit RT-PCR test costs R2500 (any ad hoc extra tests will cost R2500).

 

Accommodation arrangement

There are currently 453 establishments including self-catering, guest houses, bed and breakfast guesthouses, small hotels, medium hotels and large hotels that have been certified as of September 30 to welcome tourists from permitted countries.

As of October 1, 69 establishments have been authorised to accommodate tourists from countries with special status.

Talking about the precautions the staff of these hotels need to take, Dr Gédéon urged all of the concerned people to keep being vigilant and make sure they follow all the health guidelines.

“If we take all our precautions, like the guesthouse on La Digue who had to deal with the two positive cases, a person will not be contaminated. We urge the owners of all these establishments to be vigilant and make sure their staff are following the guidelines.”

 

No dancing parties…

All establishments are once more reminded that no dancing parties are allowed right now. Weddings are happening and everyone has to take the responsibility to make sure they abide by all health guidelines.

Reflecting on the current situation and from the questions received, Dr Louange said: “We have to realise that we have some principles that form part of our daily lives with Covid-19. I gou anmize, me i annan fason fer li! Every organisation has a health guide and we urge them to follow the guidelines in order to avoid contact tracing.

“We are not here to babysit the organisations. If they do not abide, the consequences will be theirs. We will not miss out on the opportunity to congratulate all those who are doing things the right way. Thank you for doing your part. We are here to educate the people but we cannot enforce the laws. If you see something wrong happening please inform the police. We thank you all for your support,” concluded Dr Gédéon.

 

Vidya Gappy

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