Africa-Press – Mauritius. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused the death of 197 people since 05 March 2021 and 42 people have died this week, out of which 14 were less than 60 years, 28 more than 60 years, 20 were not vaccinated, 22 vaccinated, six did not have any comorbidities, and 36 had comorbidities.
This statement was made, this afternoon, by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, during the press briefing of the National Communication Committee, held at the Ministry of Health and Wellness in Port Louis.
He indicated that 705 positive cases were registered this week, out of which 27 were imported cases. Forty-five patients are admitted at the ENT Hospital, out of whom six are on artificial ventilator, he said.
Speaking about the vaccination campaign, the Health Minister highlighted that 71,6% have been inoculated with the first dose, more than 67% with the second dose, and 858,131 people have been fully vaccinated.
As regards the booster dose, he said that some 17,508 people have received their third dose of vaccine. He also gave an overview of the situation in Rodrigues and indicated that 59,3% of the population have received their first dose and 57,5% their second dose.
As regards children aged less than 18 years, 29,740 have already been inoculated with their first dose and 12,581 with their second dose. He also pointed out that 181 passengers are in quarantine.
Dr Jagutpal further stated that sequencing results for 33 tests carried out revealed eight cases of the B 11 318 variant and 25 of the Delta variant, out of which 22 were local cases and three imported cases.
Also present, the pulmonologist, Dr Reesaul, dwelt on the different treatments being administered to COVID-19 patients at the ENT Hospital. He recalled that there are three groups of patients, namely those with light, moderate, or severe symptoms.
According to the World Health Organisation protocol, he said, patients who are positive but do not present any symptoms isolate themselves at home while observing social distancing, wearing of masks, and frequent hand washing.
Those with moderate symptoms whose oxygen level is between 90 to 94 are taken care of at the COVID-19 Wards of hospitals. They are administered cortisone for 10 days, an anticoagulant, and oxygen.
Dr Reesaul underlined that if the oxygen level decreases whereby a patient requires six to eight litres of oxygen, he is transferred to the ENT Hospital.
The patient then undergoes a complete check-up and is given the appropriate treatment with increased oxygen and a ventilation technique put in place. If the patient’s condition deteriorates, he is put under artificial ventilation, he added.
For his part, the infectologist and specialist in Internal Medicine, Dr Nuckcheddy recalled that the Remdesivir treatment for COVID-19 is already on the market adding that recently, the Technical Committee at the Ministry of Health and Wellness has approved the antiviral drug, Fabiflu, for treating patients presenting mild to moderate symptoms, as well as the Ronapreve which is a combination of two monoclonal antibodies and is used at the beginning of the treatment.
He highlighted that at the international level, other drugs are being approved and added that the protocol established in Mauritius is being regularly updated so that patients can benefit from the best treatment.
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