Covid-19 and Seychelles: Fewer Italian tourists, and an uncertain future, top official says

The variant is thought to be responsible for 90% of infections in South Africa, and has already been found in the UK.
Thomas Moore - Science correspondent
Thomas Moore
Science correspondent @SkyNewsThomas
Wednesday 6 January 2021 18:02, UK
COVID-19VACCINATION
As another case is found in an Oxfordshire prison, the World Health Organisation calls COVID-19 - the disease caused by coronavirus - ‘public enemy number one’.
Scientists have warned that only giving one dose of the vaccine could put people at risk
Why you can trust Sky News
Britain is putting vulnerable people at risk from mutant variants of the coronavirus by delaying the second dose of the vaccine, according to South Africa's top adviser on immunisations.
South Africa is suffering a sharp spike in cases, driven by a new variant that may reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
The One WD40 Trick Everyone Should Know About That threat has been underlined by new lab tests showing that antibodies may be at least 10 times less effective against the new variant, which is separate to the mutation that was originally identified in England.
Second new COVID variant 'highly concerning'
UK health secretary Matt Hancock has described the variant as "incredibly worrying" and transport links with South Africa were severed after two cases were identified in London and the North West of England.
Professor Barry Schoub, chair of the South African government's vaccine advisory committee, told Sky News that border controls won't stop the virus and that giving just one dose would reduce protection in the most vulnerable.
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"There is greater risk," he said.
"It is more transmissible, and your immunity is only half what it should be, so that will increase the risk transmission.
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"I'd think the variants would be a motivation to go for the double dose as much as you can."
Prof Schoub's warning came as new research suggested that a key mutation in the virus allows it to evade antibodies taken from some people who have recovered from COVID-19.
It suggests COVID vaccines could be less effective against the variant - and some people who've recovered from the disease may be at risk of re-infection.
Researchers from the University of Washington and the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in Seattle describe the finding as "worrying".
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The research has been published as pre-print on bioRxiv and hasn't been peer reviewed.
The researchers tested the ability of antibodies taken from people who have recovered from the disease to kill a range of new variants of the virus.
All had mutations in what's called the receptor binding domain of the spike protein, which the virus uses to latch on to human cells.
A mutation called E484K, which is found in the variant from South Africa and another in Brazil, was strongly associated with reduced antibody effectiveness in some, but not all, of the 11 samples tested.
Tests on the UK variant, which doesn't have the same mutation, showed there was no reduction in the ability of antibodies to kill the virus.
Associate Professor Jesse Bloom, who led the research, tweeted: "E484K (South African lineage) worrying for immune escape. Mutations in UK lineage less so."
Professor Schoub agreed.
"There seems to be significant reduction of the neutralising ability (of antibodies)," he said.
"This is lab work, so how does that translate to patients?
"It doesn't necessarily mean the lab finding will mean infections in those who have been vaccinated.
"We need ongoing studies in countries where we have rolled out vaccination programmes to see if there are breakthrough infections."
Cases in South Africa have surged past 1.1 million, with 90% now due to the new variant.
Research suggests it is 70% more transmissible than previous versions of the virus, but it doesn't appear to cause more serious disease.
Further research is now being carried out to gauge its impact on vaccine effectiveness.
The Department for Health has been approached for a comment.

Today’s update: 47 new cases!!
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President Ramkalawan accepts donation from Chinese businesses amidst of the fight against COVID-19
The President of the Republic, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan this morning accepted a donation of 100 thousand face masks from three Chinese businesses operating in Seychelles. Namely; GBC Company, NJ Pty Limited and AAA Trading. The presentation took place at State House.
Accepting the donation, on behalf of the people and the Government of Seychelles, President Ramkalawan expressed his gratitude for this thoughtful gesture and reassured the donors that this donation will be of great assistance to the country, in its effort protect its citizens from COVID-19 and minimize transmission.
On their part, the representatives of the businesses said that this donation is a symbol of their love that they have for Seychelles and its people. Hence the reason they find it important to support Seychelles' efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.
Packed into 50 cartons of 2000 pieces, the masks will be distributed for use by officials of the Ministry of Health, the Military as well as the Police Department whereby a batch will also be reserved to share with people in public places without mask. This is in line with the Ministry of Health’s campaign to encourage the population to wear masks.
The face masks will also be distributed on Praslin and La Digue.
https://www.facebook.com/StateHouseSey/photos/pcb.3698657356868855/3698653726869218/

Active Covid cases over the five days:
02/01/21 = 71, 03/01/21 = 83, 04/12/21 = 99 + 1 death, 05/01/21 = 129, 06/01/21 = 142.... an escalating situation.......

Ministry of Health Seychelles
59m  ·
Update on cases for today Saturday 9th January

https://www.facebook.com/mohseychellesofficial/photos/pcb.1623103971224061/1623103861224072/

57 new cases (09/01/21) today highest so far... ???
24 positive cases on Praslin alone...!!! Time to lockdown!!!!

Latest coronavirus update in numbers:point_down::flag_sc:

57 new cases have been recorded since the last update, bringing the total number of active cases to 229.

Of the new cases, 28 are foreigners and 29 Seychellois. 32 are on Mahe, 22 on Praslin with one person from La Digue.
https://www.facebook.com/sbc.sc/photos/a.845772022269846/1746201012226938/

Update on cases for today Saturday 9th January
https://www.facebook.com/todayinsey/photos/a.417785501592599/3598828140154970/

Here’s the latest covid-19 update
•23 new cases recorded. 19 are Seychellois and 4 foreigner.
•Of the new cases, 20 are on Mahe, one on Praslin and two are foreigners from an island resort.

President of Seychelles takes COVID-19 Vaccine: Seychelles launches National COVID-19 Immunisation Campaign
http://www.statehouse.gov.sc/news/5071/president-of-seychelles-takes-covid-19-vaccine-seychelles-launches-national-covid-19-immunisation-campaign?fbclid=IwAR0xppDWEK_vtUlioAie75X7A9bntgLaaKN5u_IykGwOK2t5gHoFIYavY40

52 new Covid cases recorded (11/01/21) today... 25 foreigners 27 Seselwa....

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Mr Alexander Mancham our comment to President Wankalawan nightmarish Seychelles economic situation. Sir James Mancham religious conviction- We have three leading Mauritian high priest in that Seychelles and they have prayed and prayed, they prayed before the Vaccine injection was started. Yet in all their wisdom and link to 'God and his host they cannot or refuse to ask of God, Heaven where and why that pandemic came. Having written several instance Seychelles had a very important role to play. The next super mess if we are not careful in Seychelles minus the high priests could be far terrible, It will be too late for the UN to step in as usual.

WAR WARNING World faces ‘gathering storm’ that could lead to World War Three, British general warns
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13705432/nations-face-gathering-storm-world-war-three/

Of course the issues, thematic explained presented is one sided.

Update on COVID-19 cases 531 cases recorded to date | 11 January 2021
http://www.nation.sc/articles/7507/update-on-covid-19-cases-531-cases-recorded-to-date

Opinion: Fight against Covid-19 in Seychelles Vaccination = exit strategy | 11 January 2021
http://www.nation.sc/articles/7511/opinion-fight-against-covid-19-in-seychelles-vaccination--exit-strategy

21 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 601. Of the new cases, 5 are foreigners and 16 are Seychellois. 12 are on Mahe, 9 are on Praslin. The Public Health Emergency Operations Committee has reviewed the evolution of the COVID 19 surge, the incidence of new cases, the epidemiological profile and distribution of the cases and believe that the restrictions as it stands should be extended for another two weeks, ending on 28th January 2021.

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29 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 656. Of the new cases, 4 are foreigners and 25 are Seychellois. 23 are on Mahe, 6 are on Praslin. Nearly 100 cases have recovered and have been discharged into convalescence.
https://www.facebook.com/1934059633518184/photos/a.1946989255558555/2888211658102972/

The Ministry of Health has confirmed that 40 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded since the last update.
Of the new cases, 38 are on Mahe, 2 are on Praslin.
One COVID-19 related death was also recorded today, as a patient in isolation at the Isolation and Treatment Centre passed away.
65 cases have recovered and have been discharged into convalescence.
https://www.facebook.com/sbc.sc/photos/a.845772022269846/1751291301717909

Update on Covid-19 cases Seychelles records its second Covid-related death | 18 January 2021
49 new positive cases recorded over the weekend
http://www.nation.sc/articles/7589/update-on-covid-19-cases-seychelles-records-its-second-covid-related-death

On-going COVID-19 Vaccination Campaign for Wednesday 20th January 2020
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81 cases in one day???? What kind of variant do we have here???
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81 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 844. Of the new cases, 25 are foreigners (including 22 seafarers). The seafarers are in isolation on their fishing vessel in the quarantine zone. 56 are Seychellois and all were sampled on the 18th January. One COVID-19 related death was also recorded. The 71 year old man was admitted with severe illness on Saturday 16th January 2021 and passed away the following day. 11 cases have recovered and have been discharged into convalescence. These include 4 foreigners and 7 Seychellois.
https://news.sky.com/story/covid-19-uk-records-1-610-more-coronavirus-deaths-highest-on-single-day-since-outbreak-began-12192491

Covid-19 update | 21 January 2021
Another death and 81 new cases recorded
http://www.nation.sc/articles/7630/covid-19-update

106 new cases of COVID-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 972. The sampling of these cases is spread over two days. 60 of the positive cases were reported on the 19th and 46 on the on the 20th. Of these new cases, 29 are foreigners (including 10 visitors and 19 GOP holders) and 77 are Seychellois. Investigation is ongoing to further characterise the cases. Information gathered thus far highlights that among the Seychellois cases, 47 are known contacts of a positive case, or persons under quarantine.
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Platinum COVID-19 Committee announces new measures to further control the spread of COVID-19 in the country
The President of the Republic, HE. Mr. Wavel Ramkalawan chaired the Platinum COVID-19 Committee Meeting at State House this morning, to discuss the way forward and the implementation of new heightened measures required to further mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the country.
Following deliberations by the committee, recommendations and guidance from the Health professionals and partner agencies, the Public Health Commissioner Dr. Jude Gedeon during the Press Conference announced the additional measures, which will come into force as of 8.00pm today, 23 January 2021 until 15 February 2021.
The meeting was also an opportunity, for the key agencies and authorities present to brief the Head of State of the latest information in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic and key challenges affecting their operations.
The committee collectively agreed that the coming weeks is critical in ensuring the chain of transmission is severed and stressed on need for every citizen to take their responsibility to protect their family, their households and the country.
The new Public Health Order and full details of the new restriction measures will be published by the Ministry of Health in the coming days.
Also present at State House for the meeting was the Vice President, Mr Ahmed Afif, the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, Hon. Sebastien Pillay, the Designated Minister and Minister of Fisheries and the Blue Economy, Mr. Jean-Francois Ferrari, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism, Mr Sylvestre Radegonde, the Minister of Health, Mrs Peggy Vidot, the Minister of Internal Affairs, Mr.  Roy Fonseka, the Minister of Finance, Mr Naadir Hassan, the Minister for Community Development, Mrs Rose-Marie Hoareau, the Commissioner of Police, Mr.Kishnan Labonte, the Attorney General, Mr. Frank Ally, the Principal Secretary for Health, Dr Bernard Valentin, the CEO of the Health Care Agency, Dr Danny Louange, the Public Health Commissioner, Dr. Jude Gedeon, SPDF Chief of Defence Forces (CDF), SPDF Chief of Staff. Col. Simon Dine, the Principal Secretary of DRDM, Mr Paul Labaleine, the Senior Policy Adviser Department of Health, Dr Conrad Shamlaye, Deputy Commissioners of Police, Mr. Romano Songore, and Mr. Ted Barbe.
View the full Press Conference held at State House following the Platinum COVID-19 Committee Meeting 23January 2021: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2kxzEySw44

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LATEST COVID-19 UPDATE:flag_sc:
•47 new cases have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 1116.
•Of the new cases 34 are Seychellois, 11 are GOP holders and 2 are foreign seafarers. They are all from Mahé.
https://www.facebook.com/sbc.sc/photos/a.845772022269846/1758640890982950/

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47 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 1116. Of the new cases 34 are Seychellois, 11 are GOP holders and 2 are foreign seafarers. They are all from Mahe.
https://www.facebook.com/1934059633518184/photos/a.1946989255558555/2896038020653669/

24 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded since the last update. Of the new cases 17 are Seychellois, and 7 are GOP holders. They are all from Mahe. A 4th COVID-19 related death was registered yesterday evening. The man, who also suffered from other medical conditions, was admitted at the family hospital isolation centre on 23rd January.
https://www.facebook.com/1934059633518184/photos/a.1984595588464588/2899007193690085/

https://www.facebook.com/mohseychellesofficial/photos/a.666791056855362/1645437018990756/

18 new cases of COVID-19 were recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles on the 1st February 2021 to 1223. The samples were taken on 30th and 31st January 2021.
A 5th COVID-19 related death was registered in the early hours of this morning. The woman was admitted at the Family Hospital Isolation Centre earlier this year and had other medical conditions.
https://www.facebook.com/mohseychellesofficial/photos/pcb.1646267235574401/1646266215574503/

Covid-19 update 20 new cases | 03 February 2021
Twenty (20) new cases of Covid-19 have been recorded since the last update bringing the total number of cases recorded in Seychelles to 1243.
http://www.nation.sc/articles/7774/covid-19-update-20-new-cases

Second dose of COVID-19 vaccine to be administered in Seychelles starting Friday
Victoria, Seychelles | February 4, 2021, Thursday @ 18:54 in National » HEALTH | By: Sharon Ernesta | Views: 651
http://www.seychellesnewsagency.com/articles/14298/Second+dose+of+COVID-+vaccine+to+be+administered+in+Seychelles+starting+Friday