Some 76,000 doses of the Pfizer Vaccines arrived in Mauritius today on board Emirates Flight EK701 which landed at SSRIA around 08H50LT. This new consignment of Covid-19 vaccines were delivered to MRU under the COVAX facility. Eminent personalities from the Government of Mauritius, US Embassy, WHO and other agencies were present at the airport this morning to receive the vaccines.
The Pfizer vaccines will now allow Health Authorities in Mauritius to extend the vaccination campaign to other age groups of the population, whereby increasing the number of vaccinated Mauritians and increasing the protection against Covid-19.
The Minister of Health and Wellness, Hon. Dr Kailesh Jagutpal recently announced that the national vaccination campaign was progressing faster than planned. Indeed, more than 720,000 Mauritians, representing some 60% of the population had already received a first dose of vaccine, as at 09 August 2021.
On Saturday 07 August 2021, a consignment of 108,000 doses of Johnson & Johnson vaccines arrived in Mauritius. This is the latest result of a cooperation programme of the African Union, which aims at facilitating access to the vaccines for African countries.
As from 07 August 2021, Government has opened vaccination to all Mauritians aged above 18 years. Centres are located around the island and operational six days a week in order to facilitate access. Mauritius is boosting its efforts towards vaccinating the majority of the population before the next phase of opening of borders scheduled beginning of October 2021.
Emirates flight EK 701 was the first to land at SSRIA at about 08H50 this morning, with some 190 passengers on board. The Boeing 777 received the traditional Water Salute from ARFFS to mark the first passenger flight since the reopening was effective.
At 09H45, Air Mauritius flight MK 110 with some 116 passengers departed for Mumbai and is expected back today late evening.
The first commercial passenger flight operated by Air Mauritius, MK 015 from Paris CDG, landed at SSRIA at 12H10 with 295. ARFFS personnel marked this special flight of the Mauritian airline with the traditional Water Salute.
To ensure the safety of all, special attention was given to the sanitary protocols throughout the processing of passengers.
In all, some 700 incoming passengers are expected in Mauritius for today 15 July 2021. This is indeed an encouraging first day, which sets the local air travel industry on the path of recovery. All stakeholders are hoping for the Best and will continue to work together towards making it Happen…
Mauritius received a new consignment of 500,000 Sinopharm Vaccines on 04 July 2021. This new lot of vaccines will allow the Authorities to administer jabs to many more Mauritians and is a firm step towards achieving the 'herd immunity' of 60% vaccinated population.
Presently, Government is putting in additional resources to facilitate the vaccination of several groups of the population. Following frontliners and health workers, the focus has shifted to educators and students to allow schools and educations institutions to resume.
As the vaccination campaign is progressing, the country is also preparing for the opening up of borders on 15 July 2021. At the level of the Airport and local Air Industry final preparations are underway to allow the smooth resumption of operations, while ensuring the safety of passengers and personnel.
Flight MK103 landed at about 19h30 tonight, bringing in some 500,000 doses of Sinopharm Vaccines from Beijing, PROC. The Prime Minister of Mauritius Hon. Pravind K, Jugnauth, Ministers of the Government and Mr Gong Yufeng, Chargé d'Affaires of the PROC Embassy in Mauritius were at the airport to receive the consignment. This new lot of vaccines will contribute to boost the national vaccination efforts.
Some 38,400 doses of AstraZeneca vaccines arrived in Mauritius on board flight MK 017 which landed at SSR International Airport at 22H40 on 09 May 2021. This consignment of vaccines were delivered under the multi-agency-led initiative which aims at promoting equal access to Covid-19 vaccines throughout the world.
A delegation comprising Ministers of the Government and eminent members of the diplomatic corps & WHO were present at the airport to receive the vaccines on that occasion.
This new lot of vaccines will allow Mauritius to further its vaccination programme and protect more Mauritians against the virus.
The Airport Health Laboratory (AHL) is a state-of-the-art testing facility located at SSR International Airport and which started its operations in October 2020. To date, the AHL has completed more than 24,000 tests. Since the resurgence of local Covid-19 cases, a few weeks ago, some 16,000 tests were completed during the month of March 2021 alone.
The laboratory which works 24/7, uses high-tech testing equipment and is supported by specially designed ICT tools. The overall facility is manned by a dedicated team of highly qualified professionals. All of which gives the AHL the capacity to analyse more than 2500 samples daily. The AHL thus proves to be a key component of the national fight against the pandemic in Mauritius.
AML & ATOL are supporting the National Vaccination Campaign against Covid-19. Part of the Check-In Hall of SSR International Airport has been put at the disposal of the Ministry of Health & Wellness for the vaccination exercise, which restarted today. This part of the terminal is hence regarded as a regional vaccination centre for the southern region of the island.
In addition to airport employees, other frontliners are also undergoing vaccination at the airport.
Dedicated AML & ATOL personnel are also assisting the Ministry in channelling and registration tasks.
As part of the soft launch for the vaccination of airport personnel, a first batch of frontliners principally from AML and ATOL enlisted today, 27 Jan 2021, for the vaccination against Covid-19. More than 100 staff were vaccinated by the the Ministry of Health & Wellness (MOH&W) today and the Ministry is planning for a subsequent group to receive vaccination early next week. The second batch would include other airport stakeholders who also operate on the frontline, such as Airlines, PIO and Airport Police.
The MOH&W has developed a rigorous protocol prior to injection and thereafter for the monitoring of recipients after vaccination. Hence, following conduct of a general awareness session, all candidates for vaccination are interviewed individually to ascertain their medical condition and to answer any query they may have. Again at the vaccine administration phase, recipients are checked.
Following injection of the first vaccine dose, recipients are put under medical observation for a short period of time. Each one of them is also given a vaccination card indicating the day on which they will be receiving the second dose for optimal protection against the virus.
Most colleagues having opted for vaccination today stated the need for a majority to undergo vaccination to protect not only themselves but also their families and the population at large.
As the first days of this New Year unfold, it is encouraging to note that Mauritius has restored its Covid-Safe status, except for a rapidly isolated local contamination case detected a few weeks back.
Thus, since 26 November 2020, no local contamination cases was registered. Furthermore, the strict quarantine protocol has allowed to effectively detect Covid-19 cases among incoming passengers. As at 04 January 2021, there were some 8 active cases in Mauritius, being treated at the dedicated hospital.
The Airport Health Laboratory, which became operational since 15 October 2020 has also been instrumental in the multi-layered detection mechanism deployed at the Mauritian borders. Since the beginning of the pandemic, Mauritius has recorded some 531 cases. Thanks to the advanced detection and treatment procedures, the vast majority of Covid-19 patients were successfully cured.
Indeed, the new year has started with a surge of fresh hope with more than 60 potential vaccines being tested and some of them having already reached final testing stage.
It is further reassuring that many countries such as the United Kingdom, the European Union and the United States of America have already endorsed vaccines and started vaccinating their populations. Presently in Mauritius, the authorities are working with international organisations, such as the World Health Organisation and others, towards securing the most suitable vaccines and preparing for vaccination of the local population.
