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Covid-19 update |06 February 2021

Covid-19 update

Dr Gedeon and Dr Louange during the press conference yesterday (Photo: Louis Toussaint)

147 new cases and one more death as community transmission surges

 

By Christophe Zialor

 

The Ministry of Health has recorded 147 new cases of Covid-19, the highest number recorded so far over a period of 48 hours.

Meanwhile Seychelles has recorded a new Covid-19 related death where a man lost his life, which brings the death count to six.

Addressing this new surge in a press conference yesterday afternoon was the Public Health Commissioner Dr Jude Gedeon and the chief executive of the Health Care Agency Dr Danny Louange.

Dr Gedeon mentioned that yesterday after the usual press briefing they started seeing new cases and throughout the night multiple tests were carried out and they started recording several positive cases.

The doctor continued by stating that after testing all samples from February 3, they detected 71 new cases, 7 foreigners and the rest Seychellois.

The test continued throughout the night for the February 4 sample and 76 cases were again recorded, 21 foreigners including GOP holders and the rest Seychellois.

This adds up to a total of 147 new cases in the last two days.

“All indications point towards more cases being recorded in the coming hours,” said Dr Gedeon.

One reason he gave for this sudden rise in cases is that the Ministry of Health took it upon itself to test people who had come in contact with Covid-19 more diligently and also test everyone who reported to the fever centres irrespective if their symptoms are mild or not.

“This helped in us picking up more cases, even if they are still asymptomatic,” he said.

“It’s better to know who is positive than to let them wander around the community,” Dr Gedeon said, adding that some that tested positive are not in the stage of infection, while some are asymptomatic, symptomatic and some showing mild symptoms.

“In the new cluster there will be those who need medical attention and will be admitted as well as those who will isolate at their homes,” Dr Gedeon said.

He also warned the public that the Covid-19 pandemic is not over so we should not let down our guard, stressing the fact that even if they have received the first dose of vaccine they still do not have immunity.

“It’s very important that we keep following restrictions and treat the situation as if everyone is positive,” said the doctor.

Regarding the facilities available, Doctor Louange noted that the number of positive cases needed to be put in isolation is far greater than the available rooms at the facilities that are currently in use.

He noted that they will reopen Il-di-Swet (South-East Island) which had been closed as well as using more rooms at Beau Vallon Bay and adding 24 new rooms.

“When we have tallied the number of cases and space we have we concluded that only 117 rooms are available,” he said.

To resolve this issue, the ministry has decided to isolate some patients in their homes, this will include GOP holders as well as Seychellois.

“Their homes will be evaluated and if it meets our criteria they will be placed there,” said Dr Louange.

On Praslin there are seven positive cases, 5 of which are in isolation at the Indian Ocean Lodge, while two will be brought to Mahé for monitoring to see if they have underlying health issues.

The health department is advising people to follow the health guidelines and stay home if needed.

 

Christophe Zialor

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