By Halley Movement Coalition & GCAP Mauritius

COVID-19 and Mauritius
The novel coronavirus has impacted Mauritius since March 2020 where the country has registered its first Covid-19 positive case. As at date, Mauritius has official recorded a total of 154 positive cases and seven (7) deaths. The number of positive cases are increasing day by day. The government of Mauritius has imposed a national curfew since 23rd March 2020 until 15th April 2020.

The consequences of the Covid-19 and the curfew order have serious impact on both economically and socially.

The impact of Covid-19 on Children and young persons

The consequences of the Covid-19 and the curfew order are seriously affecting the rights to education of children. Schools, colleges and universities are all closed sine die. Children and students are advised to stay at home and this has been the situation for almost two weeks.

Apprehension caused by Covid-19

Although there is a national curfew throughout the country, some essential services are allowed to operate, which has caused some people to travel to attend their place of work. This has caused many people to fear that should they go out to purchase groceries they might be in contact with others and contract the virus. This is presently the case for people who are employed in so called essential services. Their family are anxious and create a sense of insecurity at home.

Whilst adults can understand and appreciate the risks and take precautionary measures, we are left to wonder whether the same kind of appreciation can be expected from the children and young persons. Presently, the awareness campaign which are being aired in the media are meant for adults.

Halley Movement’s input to assist children and the population

Halley Movement coalition through its online help which is known as Helpline Mauritius (www.helplinemauritius.org) is providing its contribution to assist the population and especially children during this difficult time.

The Helpline service is operated remotely by counsellors who attend to the call, chat and email of the many people who are using the online service to have access to vital information during this time such as the hotline number, registering complaints, seeking information etc.

Halley Movement Coalition and fighting COVID-19

Recognizing the magnitude of the pandemic and responding to COVID-19, Halley Movement Coalition adheres to the following protocol, based on the ILO policy framework to fight COVID-19 and advocates for:

• Ensure physical distancing and other precautions
• Support for COVID-19 testing and related treatment
• Protection of jobs and pay across the COVID-19 lockdown
• Support for home and care-related responsibilities
• Acting in solidarity with workers and other vulnerable communities

Measures from the Government

Halley Movement Coalition recognises the effort that the Government of Mauritius is putting in to tackle the pandemic and to safeguard the economic and social welfare of its citizens and residents. Same can be summarised as:

• Support to the communities
• Grocery Shopping
• Support to informal workers and communities

Secretariat
Halley Movement Coalition
Port Louis, Mauritius
April 02, 2020

You can download the above statement here.

GCAP Mauritius webpage : https://gcap.global/fr/coalition/mauritius