COVID-19 pandemic in Seychelles

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached Seychelles in March 2020.[2] No cases have been reported in Praslin, La Digue, Silhouette Island and Outer Islands.[3] As of 30 May 2020, known cases of COVID-19 in Seychelles stood at 11, with no deaths.[4] Between 18 May and 27 June 2020 no active cases were reported.

COVID-19 pandemic in Seychelles
Disease	COVID-19
Virus strain	SARS-CoV-2
Location	Seychelles
First outbreak	Wuhan, China
Index case	Perseverance Island
Arrival date	11 March 2020 (5 months and 4 days)
Confirmed cases	126 (As of 8 August)[1]
Active cases	1 (As of 8 August)
Recovered	125 (As of 8 August)
Deaths	0 (As of 8 August)

Timeline

COVID-19 cases in Seychelles  ()      Deaths        Recoveries        Active cases Mar Mar Apr Apr May May Jun Jun Jul Jul Aug Aug Last 15 days Last 15 days
Date			# of cases	# of deaths
2020-03-14		​	2(n.a.)
2020-03-15		​	3(+50%)
⋮		​	3(=)
2020-03-16		​	4(+33%)
2020-03-14		​	6(+50%)
⋮		​	6(=)
2020-03-20		​	7(+17%)
⋮		​	7(=)
2020-03-28		​	8(+14%)
⋮		​	8(=)
2020-03-31		​	10(+25%)
⋮		​	10(=)
2020-04-06		​	11(+10%)
⋮		​	11(=)
2020-04-17		​ ​	11(=)
⋮		​ ​	11(=)
2020-04-23		​ ​	11(=)
⋮		​ ​	11(=)
2020-05-05		​ ​	11(=)
⋮		​ ​	11(=)
2020-05-10		​ ​	11(=)
⋮		​ ​	11(=)
2020-05-18		​	11(=)
⋮		​	11(=)
2020-06-28		​ ​	70(+536%)
2020-06-29		​ ​	77(+10%)
2020-06-30		​ ​	81(+5.2%)
⋮		​ ​	81(=)
2020-07-08		​ ​	91(+12%)
2020-07-09		​ ​	94(+3.3%)
2020-07-10		​ ​	100(+6.4%)
⋮		​ ​	100(=)
2020-07-15		​ ​	100(=)
2020-07-16		​ ​	108(+8%)
⋮		​ ​	108(=)
2020-07-24		​ ​	114(+5.6%)
⋮		​ ​	114(=)
2020-07-26		​ ​	114(=)
⋮		​ ​	114(=)
2020-08-03		​ ​	114(=)
2020-08-04		​ ​	126(+11%)
⋮		​ ​	126(=)
2020-08-07		​ ​	126(=)

March 2020

Seychelles reported its first two cases of COVID-19 on 14 March 2020. The two cases were people who were in contact with someone in Italy who tested positive.[5]

On 15 March, a third case arriving from the Netherlands was confirmed.[6]

As of 16 March, there are four confirmed cases. The new case also arriving from Netherlands.[7]

At the end of March ten persons had tested positive and were active cases.[8]

April 2020

On 6 April, there are 11 confirmed cases, and two patients have been released.[9]

By the end of April the number of confirmed cases remained 11 while four more patients had recovered, leaving five active cases.[10]

May 2020

In May 2020, the Seychelles government declared the country free of COVID-19.[11] By 18 May all 11 previously confirmed cases had recovered and there were no active cases.

June 2020

On 28 June there were 59 positive tests, followed by 7 positive tests on 29 June and 4 on 30 June.[12] From the start of the outbreak in March to the end of June there were 81 confirmed cases and 11 recoveries, leaving 70 active cases.[13] All 70 had previously tested negative in Abidjan or Dakar but positive on arrival in Seychelles.[14]

July 2020

Thirteen new cases were reported on 7 July, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 94. All 13 patients were foreign nationals.[15] The following day six locals tested positive, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 100.[16] By 22 July all six local patients had recovered.[17] By the end of the month the number of confirmed cases had risen to 114, up by 33 from June. The number of recovered patients grew from 11 to 39, leaving 75 active cases at the end of the month: an increase by 7% from the end of June.[18]

August 2020

Government response

Travel restrictions

On 9 March 2020, Seychelles ahead of the planned arrival of the Norwegian Spirit announced a temporary closing for cruise ships.[19]

On 9 March 2020, Seychelles banned any person from Seychelles from travelling to China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran. An exception is made for returning residents.[19]

A 26-year-old man, working at Seychelles International Airport, tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, April 6, bringing the country's total number of infections to 11, Following the detection of this infection, a travel ban order came into effect at midnight on Wednesday April 8 in Seychelles, except for essential service workers. This measure will be maintained for 21 days.[20]

In March, the Seychelles International Airport was closed.[21] It opened again to scheduled traffic on 1 August.[22]

Museums

Following the lockdown on 9 April 2020, the National Museum in Seychelles is preparing to reopen to the public on 1 June 2020. In doing so, Seychelles will be the first country in the Eastern Africa Region to reopen its museum during the pandemic.[23]

For business to resume to normalcy, certain guidelines have been put in place by the Seychelles Department of Health which will ultimately protect the Museum employees as well as visitors that visit Museums from contracting the coronavirus.[23] Among the measures being instituted are tips for preparing for the arrival of the public, adapting the flow of visitors, strengthening health measures, restricting some access if necessary, as well as measures for reception and security staff, cleaning and conservation measures, and guidance for office staff.[23]

Lifting of restrictions

On 28 April 2020, President Danny Faure announced a lifting of some of the measures that were earlier on put in place to forestall further spread of the pandemic . All restrictions on the movement of people were lifted on 4 May. All shops were allowed to open until 20:00 from 4 May 2020. The first schools re-opened on 11 May and on 18 May 2020, all schools will re-opened. Travel restrictions ended on 1 June 2020 when the airport reopened.[24]

Air Seychelles resumed domestic flights on May 4, and SEI reopened to international traffic on June 1.[25]

Ongoing restrictions on international travel

On 9 May, the government extended the ban on cruise ships from entering Port Victoria until the end of 2021.[26] People arriving by yacht must spend 14 days quarantined at sea, and people arriving by charter flight or private jet must demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure.[11] When scheduled air traffic resumed on 1 August, passengers arriving from low-risk or medium-risk needed to show a recent negative COVID-19 test and would not be allowed to stay at more than two approved location the first seven days in the Seychelles. Passengers arriving from countries categorized as high-risk would not be allowed to enter the country.[22]

See also

• COVID-19 pandemic in Africa
• COVID-19 pandemic by country and territory

References

1. "Seychelles Coronavirus: 126 Cases and 0 Deaths - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
2. "Paradise Seychelles is Covid-19 free". TravelDailyNews International. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
3. "Seychelles records first cases of COVID-19". Department of Health - Seychelles. 16 March 2020. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
4. "Coronavirus in Africa: 135,375 cases; 3,923 deaths; 56,401 recoveries". Africanews. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
5. Bonnelame, Betyme (14 March 2020). "2 Seychellois test positive for COVID-19 as globe-sweeping virus reaches island nation". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
6. Bonnelame, Betyme (16 March 2020). "Seychelles and COVID-19: Olympic athletes return home; 3rd case confirmed". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
7. Bonnelame, Betyme; Karapetyan, Salifa; Ernesta, Sharon; Laurence, Daniel (16 March 2020). "Seychelles and COVID-19: Travel ban on Europeans; 4th case reported". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
8. Olafusi, Ebunoluwa (3 April 2020). "7,123 cases, 289 deaths as coronavirus spreads to 50 African countries". TheCable. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
9. "President announces gradual lifting of measures and restrictions". www.nation.sc (in Bulgarian). Retrieved 30 May 2020.
10. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 102" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 May 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
11. The Seychelles has reopened to tourists – but only to those travelling by private jet
12. "Coronavirus – Seychelles: Update as of 25th June 2020". CNBC Africa. 27 June 2020. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
13. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 163" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 July 2020. p. 8. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
14. Pointe, Elsie (3 July 2020). "Health: COVID-19 update". Seychelles Nation. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
15. Pointe, Elsie (8 July 2020). "13 new COVID-19 cases detected amongst fishing crew". Seychelles Nation. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
16. Zialor, Christophe (9 July 2020). "Six Seychellois test positive for COVID-19". Seychelles Nation. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
17. Nicette, Joanna (23 July 2020). "COVID caseload among Seychellois drops back to zero after 6 recover". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
18. "Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) situation report 194" (PDF). World Health Organization. 1 August 2020. p. 6. Retrieved 2 August 2020.
19. Ernesta, Sharon (9 March 2020). "Seychelles closes cruise ship season amidst fears of COVID–19". Seychelles News Agency. Archived from the original on 10 March 2020. Retrieved 14 March 2020.
20. Bonnelame, Betyme (8 April 2020). "After new COVID case, Seychelles shuts down non-essential services". Seychelles News Agency. Archived from the original on 16 April 2020. Retrieved 16 April 2020.
21. Seychelles Bans Cruise Ships Until 2022 Out Of Coronavirus Fears
22. Bonnelame, Betyme (29 July 2020). "Tourists flying to Seychelles after Aug. 1 re-opening must have recent COVID-19 test". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 1 August 2020.
23. https://plus.google.com/+UNESCO (28 May 2020). "Seychelles prepares the reopening of its National Museum during the COVID-19 pandemic". UNESCO. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
24. "Seychelles and COVID-19: Movement restrictions to be lifted next week; schools, daycare to reopen later in May". Seychelles News Agency. Retrieved 29 April 2020.
25. "Announcements". Retrieved 8 June 2020.
26. http://www.nation.sc/articles/4579/cruise-ship-calls-banned-for-two-years Cruise ship calls banned for two years