PRETORIA, October 1. /TASS/. Russian tourists inoculated with Sputnik V arriving in Mauritius won’t have to observe a quarantine starting this Friday and can move freely about the territory of this island nation, a representative of the Russian Embassy in Mauritius told TASS.

"Beginning on October 1, Mauritius’ authorities lifted restrictions on the movement of tourists inoculated with one of eight vaccines against coronavirus approved on the island, with Sputnik V among them," the diplomat noted. "Earlier, they had to spend a two-week quarantine on the premises of hotels," he added. It is expected that direct flights between Mauritius and Russian cities will resume in the near future.

The borders of Mauritius were completely shut to foreign tourists with the onset of the pandemic in March 2020. They were reopened on July 15, 2021 but, the new arrivals had to undergo a 14-day quarantine. Currently, the conditions of stay for foreign tourists inoculated with vaccines approved by the local authorities have been relaxed.

The Sputnik V jab is widely used in Mauritius. Its first batch arrived in the country on June 30. Beginning on July 12, Sputnik V has been used in Mauritius’ national vaccination drive along with other shots. Mauritius is one of the leaders in Africa in terms of the number of those inoculated against coronavirus. Some 1.63 mln doses of shots against COVID-19 have been used on the island, 788,000 people or 62.2% of the population have completed the full vaccination course.

The pandemic wreaked major havoc on the nation’s economy. During the last financial year, its GDP sank 15%. Every fourth job in Mauritius is related to tourism, with its share of the GDP reaching 24%. The country’s government is aiming to attract about 650,000 tourists to Mauritius in the next 12 months, while the country’s tourism sector views Russia as one of its most privileged partners.