Day: 7th July 2020

Government Wage Assistance Scheme and Self-Employed Assistance Scheme extended for the month of June

Posted by APEC on in Press

The Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) informs the public that the Government Wage Assistance Scheme (GWAS) and the Self-Employed Assistance Scheme (SEAS) have been extended for the month of June 2020 to operators having the necessary licence/permit from the relevant authorities to operate the following activities:

(a) Tourism sector

1. Hotels, guest houses, tourist residences and domains;

2. Tourist enterprises, except restaurants, pubs and tables d’hôte;

3. Pleasure crafts engaged in commercial nautical activities;

4. Travel agencies, tour operators, tourist guides or canvassers;

5. National airline including Air Mauritius Ltd and Airmate Ltd;

6. Businesses deriving at least 50% of their income from goods sold or services provided to persons engaged in tourism activities as listed at (a)(1) to (5) above*.

7. Restaurants, pubs, tables d’hôte holding a tourist enterprise licence**;

8. Contract car businesses, event management companies**; and

9. Attractions, amusement parks, natural sites and museums**.

However a self-employed engaged in activities falling under item (6) above is entitled to GWAS only.

**Items (7) to (9) are applicable to businesses whose turnover has fallen by more than 50% in June 2020 as compared to the corresponding turnover in June 2019. However, this condition does not apply to an enterprise which has been set up after June 2019.

(b) Premises that remained closed or activities that were not allowed to be carried out under Covid-19 Regulations 2020

1. Fitness centres (gymnasium/sports complex);

2. Horse racing, bookmakers, casinos and gaming houses;

3. Leisure parks, amusement centres, including aquariums;

4. Multi-purpose halls, including wedding halls;

5. Nightclubs and private clubs licensed by the Tourism Authority;

6. Professional sports, and

7. Theatres and cinema halls.

(c) Self-employed

1. Artists;

2. Haberdashers operating in a market fair;

3. Holders of a license, certificate or permit issued by the Tourism Authority or Beach Authority other than for skippers and non-commercial pleasure crafts;

4. Persons making handicrafts;

5. Persons working in school canteen, and

6. Taxi drivers operating at the airport, or based at a hotel.

COVID-19 : plus de risques pour les asthmatiques ?

Posted by APEC on in Press


Selon une nouvelle étude, les patients asthmatiques ne semblent pas être exposés à un risque accru de contracter la COVID-19, ou de maladie plus grave que ceux qui ne souffrent pas d’asthme. L’étude, menée par des chercheurs de l’Université Rutgers dans le New Jersey aux Etats-Unis a été publiée dans le Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology.
Par ailleurs, si l’asthme n’augmente pas le risque de contracter la COVID-19, les infections respiratoires chroniques sont liées à un risque de décès plus élevé chez les patients dans un état grave et hospitalisés. C’est ce qui ressort d’une étude britannique réalisée à la demande du NHS England. Elle est basée sur les dossiers médiaux de 17 millions de personnes, dont 5 683 sont décédées de la COVID-19.

No visa for foreign students in case of online courses

Posted by APEC on in Newsletter


The US government will “not give visas to students enrolled in fully online programs in the fall and border guards will not let them enter the country,” Immigration and Customs Police (ICE) said in a press release.

As for students already present in the United States, “they must leave the country or take other measures, such as enrolling in a school with courses in person to maintain their legal status.” Otherwise, they may be “facing eviction,” it added.
The measure concerns F1 (for academic studies) or M1 (for professional training) visas. About 1.2 million people had them in March, the vast majority of them Asian (Chinese, Indian, South Korean), according to official data.

Like the rest of the country, American universities, which account for 5.5% of international students on average and depend heavily on their tuition fees, closed their doors in March and switched to online education in an attempt to stem the pandemic. In the absence of vaccines, some, including the State University of California or the prestigious Harvard University, have announced that they will continue with courses 100% online at the start of the school year, even for students authorized to live on the campus.