The Seychelles, which has fully vaccinated over 60% of its population against Covid-19, is bringing back restrictions amid a rise in cases.
“Despite all the exceptional efforts we are making, the Covid-19 situation in our country is critical right now, with many daily cases reported last week,” Peggy Vidot, the nation’s health minister, said at a press conference Tuesday.
The Seychelles, which relies on tourism for much of its income, began vaccinating its population in January using Chinese-made Sinopharm vaccine doses donated by the United Arab Emirates.
The daily rate of Covid-19 symptomatic infections has jumped to more than 300 cases, bringing the cumulative total to 8,172 and forcing the government to reinstate lockdown measures.
Although that number is low, it is an outsize problem for a tiny geographically isolated nation with a population of just 100,000. The daily case rate is a higher number of infections per capita than India’s outbreak.
Its worth remembering that a world’s most vaccinated country like Seychelles is witnessing Covid-19 surge worse than India in terms of percentage.
