(4 minutes read)
· Two chartered Air Seychelles flights carrying more than 200 passengers were received with fanfare, unknowing that the flight also brought a relapse of Covid-19 in the island nation
· Between June 24 and 30, the country’s confirmed cases shot from 11 to 81
The island nation, Seychelles celebrated 70-plus straight days without a single infection. Everyone thought the cruel face of the pandemicwas completely over. But the optimism did not last long. It took a turn once the air services were pressed into operation. How long the economy would have survived without the tourism industry, the mainstay of the country?
Two chartered Air Seychelles flights carrying more than 200 passengers were received with fanfare, unknowing that the flight also brought a relapse of Covid-19 in the island nation. To cut the long story short, between June 24 and 30, the country’s confirmed cases shot from 11 to 81.That has put tourism into the backburner. The Indian Ocean nation has delayed reopening of commercial flights for its lucrative tourism industry until Aug. 1. That also is conditional; if the situation improves.
There was initial euphoria among the African nations when the pandemic onslaught was not that severe as in other continents. The rising incidence of Covid-19 is casting gloom since some of the countries are fully dependent on external economies, particularly tourism to ensure flow of resources and for keeping the people occupied.
But that fear is not stopping countries from calling off the ban. Kenya and Egypt have already opened the airspace. Many other countries are contemplating opening up by imposing stringent healthcare standards since they have seen their economies going down without the usual businesses, irrespective of the rising threat from Covid-19.
