RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Hundreds of tourists, some complaining bitterly, cut short their vacations and left Friday the French Caribbean island of Martinique in the face of an unprecedented increase in cases of infection and deaths due to Covid-19.
Martinique’s prefect (governor), Stanislas Cazelles, advised visitors, mostly from mainland France, to leave the island as soon as possible, as the small territory recorded this week an alarming rate of 1,200 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 inhabitants, putting additional pressure on already overcrowded local hospitals.
4,216 people have been infected with the virus in one week, and 36 deaths were recorded during that time period.
Earlier this week, Martinique authorities announced that they would close all non-essential businesses and hotels, and vacation rentals because of the surge in infections. The authorities announced that beaches would also be closed to bathers and that people would only be allowed to travel within a 1 km radius of their homes.
The French Minister of Solidarity and Health, Olivier Véran, and the Minister of Overseas Territories, Sébastien Lecornu, visiting the island this week, during a tour of the University of Martinique, stressed the need for more vaccines as a means to address the Covid-19 crisis hitting this small territory.
Véran announced that a military hospital equipped with about 20 beds would soon be operational in this French Caribbean territory, where soldiers from the Medical Regiment and health care volunteers will help cope with the latest wave of covid-19.
The visit by the two French ministers sparked new protests by Martinique’s health care personnel against the announcement that they must receive the Covid-19 vaccine by September 15 or face a suspension of their contracts.
Similar protests have taken place next door on the neighboring island of Guadeloupe and in mainland France.
Health officials warned that this is the eighth consecutive week of rising Covid-19 cases in Martinique, a development that has prompted the Regional Health Agency to issue an urgent appeal to all eligible citizens to get vaccinated to achieve herd immunity and relieve pressure health system.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, a total of 27,883 people have been infected by Covid-19 in Martinique, as well as 184 deaths.
A total of 142,344 doses of vaccine have been administered for a total population of just over 410,000.