The regulations regarding the definition of “fully vaccinated” and “booster dose” has been exceptionally extended from 15 January 2022 to 19 February 2022.
The decision came after forceful representations from trade unions, doctors and the public at large that the deadline was “too short”.
Earlier this week, Nayen Kumar Ballah, Secretary to Cabinet and Head of Civil Service, had issued a circular warning that no staff of the public sector would have access to their place of work “except if he is fully vaccinated or if he produces a negative PCR test certificate”.
This directive would also be valid for parastatal bodies and was announced to be effective as from January 15.
Many denounced that, considering the vaccination speed of 800 jabs per vaccination centre, it would take months to reach the target.
According to the regulations, only those who had received their booster dose would be considered as “fully vaccinated – a precondition to get access to public areas – hospitals, police stations, restaurants, etc…
The warning sparked large crowds converging to vaccination centres, causing several incidents related to the unplanned welcome conditions.
Le Mauricien newspaper reported that, days before the deadline, only one out of five Mauritians (247 259 out of 920 029 people) had received the ‘booster dose.’
Announcing the decision taken during the Cabinet meeting of January 14, Health Minister Kailesh Jagutpal told a press conference: “We have exceptionally postponed the date after much consideration and analysis. (…) The population will have enough time to do the ‘booster dose’ from January 14 to February 18.”
