Seychelles, an archipelago of 115 islands located in the Indian Ocean, has fully immunized more people against COVID-19 than any other country; However, schools have closed and sporting activities canceled for two weeks as infections increase.
The measures, which include a ban on family mingling and early closing of bars, come even as the country vaccinated more than 60 percent of its adult population with two doses of coronavirus vaccines. The restrictions are similar to those imposed in late 2020.
“Despite all the extraordinary efforts we are making, the COVID-19 situation in our country is critical at the moment, as many daily cases were reported last week,” Peggy Fedot, the country’s health minister, said at a conference.
The archipelago, which has a population of about 98,000, relies on tourism in a lot of foreign currencies and moved quickly to start vaccinations in January with a donation of Chinese vaccines from the United Arab Emirates. Since then he has had other vaccinations.
To date, 62.2 percent of the eligible population has been fully vaccinated, according to the Bloomberg Vaccine Tracker report. This compares to 55.9% for Israel, the second most vaccinated country.
Officials at the press conference provided few details about what could be behind the increase in infections, other than saying that people are taking fewer precautions against the virus than before.
