Seychelles reported its first two cases of COVID-19 on 14 March 2020. The two cases were people who were in contact with someone in Italy who tested positive. On 15 March, a third case arriving from the Netherlands was confirmed. As of 16 March, there are four confirmed cases. The new case also arriving from Netherlands. At the end of March ten persons had tested positive and were active cases.
April 2020
On 6 April, there are 11 confirmed cases, and two patients have been released. By the end of April the number of confirmed cases remained 11 while four more patients had recovered, leaving five active cases.
May 2020
In May 2020, the Seychelles government declared the country free of COVID-19. By 18 May all 11 previously confirmed cases had recovered and there were no active cases.
June 2020
On 28 June there were 59 positive tests, followed by 7 positive tests on 29 June and 4 on 30 June. From the start of the outbreak in March to the end of June there were 81 confirmed cases and 11 recoveries, leaving 70 active cases. All 70 had previously tested negative in Abidjan or Dakar but positive on arrival in Seychelles.
July 2020
Thirteen new cases were reported on 7 July, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 94. All 13 patients were foreign nationals. The following day six locals tested positive, bringing the number of confirmed cases to 100. By 22 July all six local patients had recovered. By the end of the month the number of confirmed cases had risen to 114, up by 33 from June. The number of recovered patients grew from 11 to 39, leaving 75 active cases at the end of the month: an increase by 7% from the end of June.
Government response
Travel restrictions
On 9 March 2020, Seychelles ahead of the planned arrival of the Norwegian Spirit announced a temporary closing for cruise ships. On 9 March 2020, Seychelles banned any person from Seychelles from travelling to China, South Korea, Italy, and Iran. An exception is made for returning residents. A 26-year-old man, working at Seychelles International Airport, tested positive for coronavirus on Monday, April 6, bringing the country's total number of infections to 11, Following the detection of this infection, a travel ban order came into effect at midnight on Wednesday April 8 in Seychelles, except for essential service workers. This measure will be maintained for 21 days. In March, the Seychelles International Airport was closed. It opened again to scheduled traffic on 1 August.
Museums
Following the lockdown on 9 April 2020, the National Museum in Seychelles is preparing to reopen to the public on 1 June 2020. In doing so, Seychelles will be the first country in the Eastern Africa Region to reopen its museum during the pandemic. For business to resume to normalcy, certain guidelines have been put in place by the Seychelles Department of Health which will ultimately protect the Museum employees as well as visitors that visit Museums from contracting the coronavirus. Among the measures being instituted are tips for preparing for the arrival of the public, adapting the flow of visitors, strengthening health measures, restricting some access if necessary, as well as measures for reception and security staff, cleaning and conservation measures, and guidance for office staff.
Lifting of restrictions
On 28 April 2020, President Danny Faure announced a lifting of some of the measures that were earlier on put in place to forestall further spread of the pandemic. All restrictions on the movement of people were lifted on 4 May. All shops were allowed to open until 20:00 from 4 May 2020. The first schools re-opened on 11 May and on 18 May 2020, all schools will re-opened. Travel restrictions ended on 1 June 2020 when the airport reopened. Air Seychelles resumed domestic flights on May 4, and SEI reopened to international traffic on June 1.
Ongoing restrictions on international travel
On 9 May, the government extended the ban on cruise ships from entering Port Victoria until the end of 2021. People arriving by yacht must spend 14 days quarantined at sea, and people arriving by charter flight or private jet must demonstrate a negative COVID-19 test within 48 hours of departure. When scheduled air traffic resumed on 1 August, passengers arriving from low-risk or medium-risk needed to show a recent negative COVID-19 test and would not be allowed to stay at more than two approved location the first seven days in the Seychelles. Passengers arriving from countries categorized as high-risk would not be allowed to enter the country.
