Address by President Danny Faure on the situation of COVID-19

Our world faces a common enemy. Today, as a people that has always welcomed others, and as a nation that knows the value of unity, we express our solidarity with countries and people around the world at war with this virus.

Here in the Seychelles our situation is as follows:

No one is in house quarantine anymore.
We have 65 people in the quarantine station Berjaya Beau Vallon Bay and 8 people in the quarantine station of the coast guard under quarantine.
Of the 11 patients who tested positive for coronavirus, 2 have been cured after consistently testing negative on several occasions. 3 others have tested negative for the first time and are waiting for further negative tests before being declared cured. The Dutch gentleman is currently recovering and is also waiting for his additional COVID 19 tests to be negative.
To date, we have performed 426 rapid tests on contacts, and none of them has COVID-19.
We have also done 280 PCR tests, i.e. confirmatory tests, and so far we have only had these 11 cases that have tested positive.
We are continuing to track contacts and I would like to thank everyone who has provided us with information. Thank you for your cooperation.
Last week, on 9 April, measures to restrict the free movement of our people came into force.

In view of the possibility of a Community-wide transfer of COVID-19, we took these measures at an early stage in order to bring the situation under control and interrupt the transfer chain. The virus is moving fast and we must do the same.

We are entering this next phase of our response early to avoid overloading our healthcare system. We cannot afford complacency. Therefore, we must continue to respect the actions of the Ministry of Health. We all have a role to play.

I know that young people want to go back to school at home, that they want to see their friends. I know that the workers want to go back to work. I know that companies want to reopen. In other words, we all want life to return to normal.

For us to return to normality, it is crucial that each of us plays our part and helps to break the community transmission chain. Your actions will be crucial to our collective ability to stop the spread of COVID-19. If we all stay at home, down to the bare necessities, and follow physical distancing whenever we go out, there will be no new cases of COVID-19 in the country and we will be able to gradually lift certain measures.

I don't underestimate the gravity of what's being asked of you. I know these measures are not easy to follow. What we should recognise today is that we must stop the transmission of this virus in our community at all costs, and we can do so. Our future depends on the efforts that each and every one of us makes to protect and preserve ourselves. If we are successful after this time, we hope that we will be able to relax the restrictions. If not, we will have to live with them longer. For this reason it is important to follow the existing measures.

Seychellois brothers and sisters,

After a meeting I had this morning with the Law Enforcement Committee and after consulting the Commissioner for Public Health, Doctor Jude Gédéon, we see that people are still moving at night, which is a serious threat to public health.

In accordance with the current Public Health Emergency Law, two additional measures must therefore be taken.

Tonight I would like to announce that we will have further restrictions on the movement of people from 7 p.m. to 6 a.m. on Friday 17 April. This measure will remain in force until 29 April.

During this period, only the police will be on the road with the support of the army, with the exception of some key personnel in critical services. In view of the nature of their work, they will receive special permits during this period. The list of critical services will be published by the Commissioner for Public Health.