MAURITIUS – Mauritius Ministry of Health and Wellness, in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Africa Reinsurance Corporation, has opened a new COVID-19 Testing Centre in Mont Lubin, Rodrigues island.
According to WHO, Mauritius is the second country in the African region to have reached 70% vaccine coverage as a result of the proactive initiatives undertaken under the honorable leadership which has attributed to the remarkable achievements of the country in the prevention and control of COVID-19.
WHO and the Africa Reinsurance Corporation, the leading pan-African reinsurance company and largest reinsurer in Africa, provided technical and financial support to the Rodrigues Commission for Health and the Ministry of Health and Wellness to facilitate the opening of the new COVID-19 testing facility.
WHO Mauritius Country Office highlighted that the newly built COVID-19 Testing Centre will help to further strengthen public health surveillance and response particularly national monitoring activities related to COVID-19.
WHO further said that the Minister of Health and Wellness Honorable Kailesh Jagutpal inaugurated the first COVID-19 Testing Centre in Rodrigues in the presence of the Commissioner of Health of Rodrigues and other distinguished guests.
The opening of this COVID-19 Testing Centre in Rodrigues has been made possible with the efforts of the Rodrigues Commission for Health and the support of the Ministry of Health and Wellness and the technical and financial support from the World Health Organization and the Africa Reinsurance Corporation.
The WHO Representative in Mauritius Dr. Indrajit Hazarika, the Senior Chief Executive of the Ministry of Health and Wellness Mrs. Sewruttun, the Director General Health Services Dr. Ori, and other high-level officials of the health ministry were also part of the three-day mission to Rodrigues.
During the launching ceremony, the Minister of Health and Wellness Dr Kailesh Jagutpal lauded the stringent preventive and control measures taken by the Republic of Mauritius to protect its population while noting that the newly built COVID-19 Testing Centre will help to further strengthen surveillance.
Dr. Kailesh Jagutpal reaffirmed to the population of Rodrigues that the island will be involved in all Action Plans including the Cervical Cancer Action Plan and the Sexual and Reproductive Action Plan that are being developed by the Ministry of Health and Wellness.
Furthermore, the WHO Representative in Mauritius Dr Indrajit Hazarika recognized and applauded the efforts taken by the Government of Mauritius to fight the COVID-19 virus in Mauritius and Rodrigues while pointing out that the pandemic continues to impact lives and livelihoods.
“COVID-19 pandemic is a once-in-a-century crisis that has taken a terrible toll on individuals, families, communities and economies. The rise in the number of cases and deaths worldwide is a clear sign that we are not out of the woods yet,” Dr. Indrajit Hazarika stressed.
He further said that the pandemic continues to put further pressure on stretched health systems and health workers across the globe, noting that every government must do its best to stay ahead of the coronavirus scourge.
“We must do all in our means to stay ahead of the virus. We need to strengthen surveillance including testing and sequencing among other activities for a coordinated health response to suppress transmission and end the pandemic,” Dr. Indrajit Hazarika added.
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