Africa-Press – Mauritius. Sanitary restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic are being eased and as from 01 July 2022, the wearing of face masks will no longer be compulsory in public places other than in hospitals and across all other health services, in public transport and in certain closed spaces.
Moreover, there will be no restrictions on the number of people allowed, to public, private and religious gatherings including weddings and funerals and places of worship.
The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, made this announcement in a televised address to the nation, this evening, which was relayed by the Mauritius Broadcasting Corporation.
In addition, the Prime Minister highlighted that Citizens Advice Bureaus, Village Halls and Community Centres, public beaches, nightclubs, bars, horse racing activities, among others, will be reopened.
In his address, Mr Jugnauth recalled that two years ago, the world was confronted with an unprecedented pandemic which no one could have predicted. At the very beginning, no country was prepared to cope with the COVID-19 and the World Health Organization had made worrying predictions for Mauritius, he indicated.
In spite of this, Mauritius adapted rapidly and Government’s actions were dictated and will continue to be dictated by one priority that of protecting the health of each Mauritian, he highlighted.
The Prime Minister further observed that difficult decisions had to taken, namely, imposing total lockdowns with its consequences on the economy. However, we have ensured that each citizen, especially the most vulnerable, benefit from the necessary support, he said.
By the end of 2020, Mauritius ensured that the population gained access to efficient vaccines against the COVID-19 once these were made available to the world, stated the Prime Minister.
Today, our country is among the countries that have a high vaccination rate and all the measures taken by Government have been fruitful, he emphasised. We would not have been successful without the population abiding to sanitary precautions, he remarked.
It is however disheartening that there are families and friends who have not been able to surmount this disease and we will always have a special thought for them, he stated.
Moreover, the Prime Minister lauded the efforts of front-liners who have worked round the clock to protect the health of citizens. For him, at present, Mauritius is witnessing a sense of normality.
We have not been hasty in reopening our frontiers and this has been done in phases and we have noted that it is a formula that has worked, he highlighted. Now it is with confidence that we can enter a new phase, he stated
The Prime Minister cautioned that we should not forget that Mauritius has an ageing population as well as people who live with diabetes, blood pressure and heart disease thus making them more vulnerable.
According to him, it is true that new variants are less dangerous but they are more contagious and precautions should be maintained in particular by those people who are the most at risk.
The Prime Minister called for citizens to be responsible to ensure health safety in Mauritius and appealed to the population to make the right decisions when it comes to wearing face masks even if it is not compulsory.
He advised individuals visiting an elderly or a person who is ill to wear a face mask even if it is not compulsory. Government, he reassured, will continue to ensure that all citizens gain access to vaccines. On that score, he encouraged citizens to get inoculated with the booster dose.
The Prime Minister furthermore extended gratitude to the Minister of Health and Wellness, Dr Kailesh Kumar Singh Jagutpal, and his team, for the work accomplished and the sacrifice demonstrated during the COVID-19 crisis.
He expressed confidence that the population can be trusted and it is also due to that collaboration that the disease has been contained. Government, he said, will continue to closely monitor the situation and take necessary decisions at any time to guarantee the security of citizens, children and the elderly.
The past two years have been very difficult for each and every one of us and it is together that we have been able to put the country back on track and it is together that we will continue to ensure the future of our country, he added.
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