Hospitals are overwhelmed, ventilators are difficult to find and there is no longer enough space at the main cemetery for COVID-19 victims in Mauritius.
Barely three weeks before it fully opens its doors to international travelers at the start of the peak tourist season, the island nation is struggling with an alarming explosion in COVID-19 infections and deaths.
In just two months, cases have jumped more than fivefold to more than 12,600 as of Friday, by far the largest increase across Africa during this period, data compiled by Agence France-Presse showed.
Photo: AFP
Since the pandemic started, Mauritius has recorded 1,005 cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, far higher than the continent’s average of 598.
The crisis has become so acute that 74-year-old former Mauritian prime minister Navin Ramgoolam has flown to India for COVID-19 treatment, and the opposition leader has discussed his struggle to find a bed for an ailing friend.
“People do not realize how bad the situation is,” said one nurse at a COVID-19 treatment center, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of possible reprisals. “We are already above capacity.”
In July, the Indian Ocean holiday destination, renowned for its white sandy beaches and turquoise waters, partly reopened to vaccinated international visitors.
However, they had to remain in “resort bubbles” for 14 days before being allowed to venture further afield, provided they had a negative polymerase chain reaction test.
The government this month reduced that timeframe to seven days ahead of a full reopening planned for Oct. 1, when tourists would be free to explore the island as long as they test negative up to 72 hours before arrival.
“The situation is worsening,” one doctor said on condition of anonymity, adding that medical professionals had been instructed not to talk about the crisis.
“The priority of the government is to ensure a smooth opening of the borders on Oct. 1,” the doctor said.
The government has not given any explanation for the surge, but local media reports speak of people ignoring social distancing and not following precautions after getting inoculated.
The authorities had ordered people in some sectors to have COVID-19 vaccines, or risk hefty fines and jail terms of up to five years.
As of Saturday, 61 percent of the population was fully vaccinated, but the virus situation remains bleak.
Bernard, a worker at Bigara Cemetery on the main island, said that the area reserved for COVID-19 victims is full.
The dead are being buried at another graveyard in the north of the island, but locals are furious, saying that COVID-19 victims are being buried too close to their homes.
L’Express newspaper reported that police had to be summoned last week when some youths began throwing stones at health workers who were burying the dead at Bois-Marchand Cemetery.
The authorities have been slow to paint a clear picture of the pandemic death toll, and announced a sharp revision to official figures on Friday, from 34 to 89.
The Mauritian Ministry of Health explained its initial calculations by saying that most of the 89 fatalities were due to comorbidities and not directly caused by COVID-19.
Locals are conflicted about the relaxation of restrictions, with tourism contributing 25 percent of the archipelago’s GDP prior to the pandemic.
“We had closed the country, but, despite this, the number of cases exploded,” said taxi driver Paul Pierre, who said that the prospect of a tourist surge made him “shudder.”
Hotel receptionist Diana Mootoosamy echoed his fears, saying that “suddenly we find ourselves without a safety net.”
“By welcoming tourists, are we going to attract foreign exchange or [SARS-CoV-2] variants?” she asked.
Others have said that the economy, which shrank by 15 percent during the past fiscal year, desperately needs a boost.
“My restaurant has been empty since March 2020. If the tourists don’t come back, I’ll have to put the key under the doormat,” restaurateur John Beeharry said.
The country’s healthcare system is struggling to cope.
Mauritian Leader of the Opposition Xavier Duval rang alarm bells over his “traumatic” hunt earlier this month for a hospital bed with a ventilator for a close friend.
With family members in tears, Duval tried several private clinics and the main hospital with no luck, before one center agreed to admit his friend — but only for 48 hours.
“All this indicates that the system is overwhelmed,” he said, calling the situation “alarming.”
“I’m afraid Mauritius will come to a stage where we might need to decide who will get the air supply and who will have to die,” he said.
With YouTube videos “debunking” allegations of human rights abuses and diatribes on Western “conspiracies” against China, an unlikely set of foreigners is loudly defending Beijing against international critics. They are teachers and business owners from the UK, Colombia and Singapore, a collage of YouTubers garnering fame for their video takedowns of what they say are unfair accusations against Beijing. Videos alternate between praise of China’s rapid development and rebuttals of negative foreign reports about the country. Experts say they are being deployed as a weapon in the information war against China’s critics, with hundreds of videos reaching millions of viewers. “I am trying to
Hospitals are overwhelmed, ventilators are difficult to find and there is no longer enough space at the main cemetery for COVID-19 victims in Mauritius. Barely three weeks before it fully opens its doors to international travelers at the start of the peak tourist season, the island nation is struggling with an alarming explosion in COVID-19 infections and deaths. In just two months, cases have jumped more than fivefold to more than 12,600 as of Friday, by far the largest increase across Africa during this period, data compiled by Agence France-Presse showed. Since the pandemic started, Mauritius has recorded 1,005 cases of COVID-19 per
ELEVATED PARTNERSHIP: The agreement enables Japan to share its equipment and technology, as the countries deepen defense ties amid China worries Japan is to give defense equipment and technology to Vietnam under an agreement signed on Saturday, as the two countries step up their military cooperation amid worries about China’s growing military influence. Japanese Minister of Defense Nobuo Kishi said the deal elevates the countries’ defense partnership “to a new level,” and that Japan and Vietnam plan to deepen defense ties through multinational joint exercises and other means. Details about the transfer of specific equipment, including naval vessels, is to be worked out in subsequent talks, the ministry said. Kishi’s meeting with Vietnamese Minister of Defense Phan Van Giang in Hanoi
A city in southern China that is trying to contain a COVID-19 outbreak told the public on Sunday not to leave, suspended bus and train services, and closed cinemas, bars and other facilities. Anyone needing to leave Putian, a city of 2.9 million people in China’s Fujian Province, for an essential trip must have proof of a negative coronavirus test within the past 48 hours, the city government said. China declared the virus under control early last year, but has suffered outbreaks of the more contagious Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2. Authorities say that most cases have been traced to travelers arriving from
RSS