Plaine Verte and Cité Martial will be declared as Red Zone areas and the existing Red Zone of Morcellement Foondun will be extended to include Le Hochet as from 20 00 hrs tonight.
This announcement was made by the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, this evening, at a press briefing of the National Communication Committee on COVID-19, at the Treasury Building in Port Louis. The Deputy Commissionner of Police (DCP), Mr Krishna Jhugroo, was also present on the occasion.
The Minister underlined that this decision has been taken following the detection of COVID-19 positive cases in the area. Ninety-eight positive cases are linked to the Terre Rouge Cluster since the detection of the first case on 29 June 2021, including 22 in Terre Rouge, 18 in Vallée-des-Prêtres, 18 in Plaine Verte, 10 in Cité Martial, eight in Le Hochet, and three in Vallée Pitot.
He underlined that if all sanitary precautions and laws as regards COVID-19 were observed, the Terre Rouge Cluster would not have reached that many positive cases as at that time, gathering involving more than 10 persons was not allowed.
In this context, Dr Jagutpal urged all citizens to abide by all the laws, rules, and regulations pertaining to the resumption of activities, while stressing on the importance of abiding by social and physical distancing and hygiene measures to halt the propagation of the coronavirus in the community.
For his part, Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), Krishna Jhugroo, recalled that part of Terre Rouge, namely Morcellement Foondun, was designated as a Red Zone area since 01 July 2021. To this end, the Red Zone boundaries of this region have been extended to include Le Hochet and some other small nearby regions, he added.
As for the newly designated Red Zone areas of Plaine Verte and Cité Martial, he informed that several road blocks and vehicle check points will be set up at various points to control access and movement in the area as from tonight.
He further underscored that the Mauritius Police Force will communicate more precise information pertaining to new Red Zones and road blocks later tonight.
As regards residents of Chitrakoot, the DCP stated that the Police will carry out a survey and will issue a special permit to them so that they are able to circulate in the area. This permit will have to be presented at each check point, he added. In the Red Zones, only residents working for essential services will be issued special permits.