Mauritius has closed its borders to passengers flying in from England, Scotland, Wales and South Africa as of midnight on Monday.
This follows the discovery of a new variant of COVID-19 in the United Kingdom and South Africa.
Briefing the media, Dr Zouberr Joomaye, spokesperson of the COVID-19 National Communications Committee, said no flight with passengers from these countries will be allowed to land in Mauritius for the next 10 days, until 31 December, 2020.
Health and Wellness Minister, Kailesh Jagutpal, said the restriction will initially last for 10 days “before the situation is reconsidered”.
“Additional measures have also been taken to prevent this new variant of COVID-19 from reaching our country,” he added. He gave no details.
According to health authorities, there are currently 18 active cases of COVID-19 in Mauritius. “No new case has been detected for a week,” they said.
