Republic of Mauritius- Government gears up to reduce socio-economic impact of Covid-19

The Prime Minister gave an overview of the outbreak of the Novel Coronavirus in China as reported by the World Health Organization in December 2019 and which has spread around the world, affecting more than 60 countries.

Despite no case of Covid-19 reported in Mauritius, the country remains vulnerable to such a threat, stressed the Prime Minister. He reiterated that in the wake of such pandemic, the authorities are ready to contain, delay and mitigate any outbreak and added that an awareness campaign on health measures to limit the general risk of transmission of Covid-19 will soon be launched.

Mr Jugnauth recalled the various proactive precautionary measures put in place to prevent any outbreak of Covid-19 in Mauritius, including: reinforced security at the airport and seaport; setting up of three quarantine centres namely at Souillac Hospital, Anse-La-Raie and Pointe Jerome Community Centres; and the setting up of various committees at the level of several Ministries/ Departments to monitor the situation in the Republic. He also recalled that there is coordinated action between his Government and the World Health Organization for a better monitoring of the situation.

As concern mounts that Covid-19 could imperil the local economy, the Prime Minister stressed that the sectors which will be most affected are tourism, trade, construction, and manufacturing. Economic growth could fall to up to 0.3%, hence the need for Government to stand ready to take appropriate and targeted measures, he stated.

Consequently, he announced that overall Government spending will be reduced by 10%, including travel by Ministers and that with regard to expenditure in the context of the forthcoming National Day celebrations, it will be reduced from Rs 12 million to Rs 2 million.