On Wednesday 18 March the Prime Minister of Mauritius, Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, announced that from Thursday 19 March at 10am the island nation will no longer allow commercial aircraft to land in the country.
The announcement comes after the first three people in Mauritius tested positive for COVID-19.
According to the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, ‘this has a direct and immediate impact on the flights departing from South Africa on Thursday, 19 March, and for the next two weeks.’
All South African travellers have been asked to contact their travel agents ‘to discuss their booking details’, as the ban will be in place for at least the next 14 days, as the country tries to contain the spread of the virus.
According to the statement, ‘The three people who have tested positive for COVID-19 were immediately transported to Souillac Hospital, one of the facilities in Mauritius specifically set up to deal with the infection and quarantine and isolation of patients.’
Two of the three patients, aged 21 and 25, were working on cruise ships and were placed in quarantine on arrival in Mauritius, however the third, a 59-year-old man returning from England, was asymptomatic on arrival in Mauritius and was therefore not immediately placed in quarantine.
According to the Mauritius Tourism Promotion Authority, the man went to Victoria Hospital in Candos on Wednesday and tested positive for coronavirus.
‘He has been placed in solitary confinement. The ministry will now conduct “contact tracing” to find out with whom the man has been in contact.’
Featured image: Attitude Hotel, Mauritius
