Covid 19 in the Seychelles update; Empty beaches and emptying coffers.

As Boris Johnson is moved to intensive care due to the Coronaviruss, the Seychelles has still managed to keep the virus mostly at bay. There are currently 10 confirmed cases and 2 people have successfully recovered. The known cases are all isolated and there are also a number of people quarantined across the islands. The government have put in place a number of policies to try to ensure that the virus remains low, including stopping all tourist entry through the airport or sea port, banning all non-essential travel for residents, closing schools, advising on social-distancing and prohibiting any gatherings over 4, amongst a range of other policies which can be accessed via http://www.health.gov.sc/.

Most hotels have now closed down, with hotels such as the Hilton Labriz suspending operations until June 01st . Many restaurants have also shut, although some remain open, mainly for take-out. As mentioned above, the public have been advised to not congregate in groups of more than 4, but from what we’ve seen, this is not the case and is not being policed. Face-masks are also rare and generally people don’t seem to be taking any major precautions. Some shops offer hand-sanitizer to their customers and the government have imposed a 18:30 curfew on them, in an aim to stop congregating crowds on an evening. The busses had stopped accepting money (they were free), to stop the transference of the virus, however, this is no longer the case. The beaches are empty, which is a bonus, and with no restriction son being able to leave the house, having basically private access to many of the beautiful beaches here has been great. We were even lucky enough to see the return of some dolphins, just of Beau Vallon’s beach.

Generally, life seems to be going on mainly as normal (Just without any tourists). The virus is still being held back, however, there is a worrying lack of concern from the islanders and a serious lack of precautions being taken, even if over=the=top. The island seriously lacks the medical care to able to cope with a mass break-out so hopefully this facetious approach does not turn into a catastrophe.